A major grant is helping UMKC faculty study the public health implications of allowing dental hygienists to provide basic care.
Meet the researchers
Melanie Simmer-Beck, Ph.D., RDH
- Professor and Admission Enhancement Program Director, Department of Dental Public Health and Behavioral Science, School of Dentistry
- Joined UMKC in 2004
Patricia J. Kelly, Ph.D., M.P.H., APRN
- Professor, School of Nursing and Health Studies
- Joined UMKC in 2004
About the project
The five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, worth up to $4.38 million, will compare dental models in Kansas, where dental hygienists are allowed direct patient access, to those in Missouri, where dental hygienists must provide dental care in the presence of a dentist.
“This project will identify cost-effective, evidence-based strategies that improve access to dental providers in rural and urban underserved communities and ultimately reduce the number of children in Kansas who experience pain and suffering from oral health problems that are largely preventable,” Simmer-Beck says.
>Read more in Explore, a publication of UMKC.