Treating Minorities: Start In the Community Not The Operatory with Alicia Murria, RDH, MS(C) and Daniel Lopez, RDH - 275

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In honor of National Minority Health Month, Andrew and Michelle welcome two passionate experts in the field to the podcast today. Daniel Lopez, RDH, a dental hygienist practicing in a Federally Qualified Health Center in New York City, makes a return visit, while Alicia Murria, RDH, MS(C), and Founder and CEO of Hygienists for Humanity, is making her first appearance here. Together with our hosts, they examine the fundamentals of minority health and what that looks like in dentistry today, and offer their recommendations for the future.

They begin by sharing differing perspectives on politics and minority health, exploring public health and private practice treatment, and offer a glimpse of DentaQuest’s Preventistry. Our panel then delves into the need for an outcomes-based health model, the barriers to quality focused care on minority groups, and the many avenues which could lead to overcoming these barriers. Alicia and Daniel conclude the interview by stressing the most important components to address in minority health, and by offering their sage advice for listeners interested in ‘really making a dent in this problem’. Drawing greatly upon Alicia and Daniel’s immense expertise and experience, today’s conversation marks one more step in bringing crucial awareness to this decidedly sensitive and extremely important topic.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

Interview starts: 8:08

Guest introductions
Politics and minority health
Public health and private practice treatment
DentaQuest’s Preventistry
New York State’s move toward an outcomes-based health model
Barriers to quality-focused care on minority groups
Learning about cultural differences and making connections
Expanding the role of the hygienist, meeting patients where they are, developing trust, and offering consistency
Underserved and neglected populations
What we can be doing in our communities
Motivational interviewing
The importance of listening to all patients and educating them
Learning from each other in the hygienist community
Daniel and Alicia’s parting advice

QUOTES:

“You don’t go into this profession with a political mindset. You go into this profession with a heart.”

“Health insurance is, unfortunately, a political issue.”

“I think, in public health, we’re offering fish sandwiches every single day, and we’re not teaching enough people to fish.”

“If I feel like I didn’t give them what they needed, and I didn’t serve them well, I bring them back at no cost to them.”

“And also, private practice grows if they have disease.”

“Why on Earth are we the only health care modality centered around prevention, and no one pays attention to what we have to say?”

“What does it look like if your insurance is paying out more for prevention than for restoration?”

“There’s this endless cycle of new providers. The most at-risk and the most underserved are constantly being seen by people who are just learning the ropes.”

“The dentist population does not reflect the general population.”

“Dental providers and medical providers are less empathetic to the black population than they are to white.”

“You have to be able to see color in dentistry.”

“There are so many different avenues that you need to go down to actually get to a point where you’re really making a dent in this problem.”

“I’ve literally had people say they would rather die than go somewhere else.”

“You have to start with yourself…be a resource, be a friend, let them know that you’re an ally in their community.”

“Be willing and be open to getting it wrong.”

“These patients that we are servicing need prevention more than anything else.”

“Don’t be afraid to speak up!”

LINKS:

A Tale of Two Hygienists homepage – https://ataleoftwohygienists.com/

AToTH on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/aTaleOfTwoHygienists/