The
Northwest/Alaska Center to Reduce Oral Health Disparities (NACROHD),
headed by Dr. Peter Milgrom at the University of Washington School
of Dentistry, focuses on a variety of topics topics including orthodontic
intervention under Medicaid, adolescent dental avoidance and dental
fear in rural communities, socio-biological boundaries in oral health
and microbiological studies of the effects of xylitol and of beta
defensins in caries-prone children. The Pacific Northwest and Alaska
comprise an extensive region with diverse populations. Many of the
population groups face significant oral health problems exacerbated
by limited access to health care. The youngest children in this region
have the severest problems. The region stretches from the urban areas
of Western Washington State and Seattle to the agricultural areas
of Washington, Idaho, Montana and the remote villages of Alaska.
Its diverse racial and cultural populations include Hispanics, African
Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, American Indians and Alaska
Natives, and White Americans. The region is home to growing numbers
of immigrants. These groups have been identified in Oral Health in
America: A Report of the Surgeon General as carrying a much greater
disease burden and receiving fewer health care services than other
parts of the U.S. population. This research center was created with
the exclusive intent to address the unique oral health problems of
this diverse and expansive region. The approach of NACROHD is to push
research beyond traditional practices. This Center represents a nontraditional
collaboration of clinical and basic scientists, behavioral scientists,
and experts in clinical microbiology and biometry that is unique
in the arena of oral health research and is needed to address the
complex problems at the root of oral health disparities.
Collaborating
with UW are Heritage College, Yukon-Kuskokwim Native Heath Corporation,
Washington Dental Service Foundation, Medical Assistance Administration
for the State of Washington, Northwest/Portland Area Indian Health
Board, Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, and Kaiser Permanente.
