Delta Dental Foundation Renews Support of Free CE Program on Serving Persons with Disabilities

Philadelphia – The Delta Dental Foundation of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and North Carolina (DDF) recently renewed its support of Penn Dental Medicine’s Persons with Disabilities Presentation Series with a $50,000 grant. The Series—a free online continuing education program aimed at building competency among practicing clinicians to provide oral healthcare to persons with disabilities—launched last year with support from a DDF grant of the same amount.

“We are tremendously grateful for Delta Dental’s ongoing commitment to this programming,” says Dr. Miriam Robbins, Director of Penn Dental Medicine’s Care Center for Persons with Disabilities, who helps to develop topics and identify speakers for the Series. “We see this Series as an important way to not only build awareness of the barriers to equitable oral healthcare for individuals with disabilities, but also expand the number of dentists treating this vulnerable population.”

Since its launch last year, the lecture topics have ranged from defining disabilities across a lifetime and caring for older adults with cognitive impairments to how the payer system can be strengthened to improve care for persons with disabilities. From January 2021 through February 2022, a total of 28 lectures were presented as part of the Series to 3,127 participants.

“The excitement and feedback we’ve received about the Series continues to inspire us,” said Holli Seabury, EdD, executive director of the DDF. “It’s clear that oral health professionals across the industry want to be on the leading-edge of care for ALL people.”

Developed and offered through Penn Dental Medicine’s Office of Continuing Education, the series is open to oral health professionals at no charge.

Dentists completing 18 or more of the courses within a three-year period will receive a certificate of completion from Penn Dental Medicine as a Disabilities Dentistry Clinician Expert. View the full schedule of upcoming live webinars as well as available online lectures at www.dental.upenn.edu/disabilitiescare.