White Paper Highlights Oral Health Disparities in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities

US: A recent white paper by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, the Society of American Indian Dentists (SAID), and the National Indian Health Board’s (NIHB) Tribal Oral Health Initiative reveals that American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities face significant oral health disparities. 

The report, titled “American Indian and Alaska Native Communities Face a ‘Disproportionate Burden of Oral Disease’: Reversing Inequities Involves Challenges and Opportunities,” presents new data from CareQuest Institute’s State of Oral Health Equity in America survey and outlines strategic recommendations to address disparities and inequities facing AI/AN communities.

Intergenerational Trauma Affecting Oral Health

According to the report, AI/AN communities are at high risk of poor overall and oral health outcomes due to historical and intergenerational trauma, including genocide, exposure to infectious diseases, forced boarding school attendance, lack of access to nutritional and affordable food, and lack of access to routine preventive care.

The paper also highlights striking data, such as the fact that early childhood caries prevalence in AI/AN communities is three times higher than for white children, and AI/AN adults are twice as likely to have untreated decay as the overall US population.

Strategic Recommendations to Reduce Disparities 

In response to the findings, the authors offer several strategic recommendations to reduce oral health disparities in AI/AN communities. These include developing partnerships with AI/AN communities and organizations, collecting more accurate data, increasing representation of AI/AN individuals in dental education settings, developing career pathway programs for AI/AN individuals to enter all dental workforce positions, and ensuring state and federal oral health care policies are made in collaboration and consultation with tribal leaders and the Indian Health Service.

CareQuest Institute CEO and president Myechia Minter-Jordan emphasized the need for broad distributive justice to address the serious health disparities facing AI/AN communities. “Our hope is that the data and recommendations in this white paper help address the deep health inequities facing this population,” she said. SAID president Cristin Haase added that partnerships like this are important for opening the door to critical conversations and driving change towards inclusive oral health care for AI/AN communities.

Click here to read the full White Paper.