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The state and the New Jersey Dental Association have teamed up in an effort to encourage minority high school students to consider careers in the oral health professions.

"New Jersey's minority populations are growing, and so too is the state's need for a diverse health professional workforce," Health Commissioner Heather Howard said in Newark Monday.

Health officials and dentists have developed what they describe as a tool kit which contains information designed to help school guidance counselors and student advisors arrange for an oral health professional visit their school. The kit also provides facts about oral health careers and outlines various resources for students and their parents.

"Careers as a dentist, dental hygienist, dental assistant or dental lab technician are available to students of all backgrounds and education levels," said NJDA President Steven Fink. "In fact, many areas of dentistry are experiencing a shortage of professionals, so the sky is the limit for the student who has the will and determination to excel."

The kit is entitled "Exposing Diverse Students to Oral Health Professions.''

Increasing the number of minority health professionals is critical to improving health care delivery throughout the health care system and addressing persistent racial and ethnic health care disparities, Howard said. Studies demonstrate that patients play a more active role in their health care when seeing a provider of the same race, which can greatly impact a patient's health.

Additionally, Howard said, patients are more likely to visit a provider of the same race and ethnicity. According to the American Dental Association, in 2000, black dentists reported that 61.8 percent of their patients were black; 45.5 percent of Hispanic dentists' patients were Hispanic; and 76.6 percent of white dentists' patients were white.

The tool kit was unveiled at Central High School in Newark, which is equipped with a state-of-the-art dental lab and offers its students a dental program.

The tool kit is available on the Department of Health and Senior Services' Office of Minority & Multicultural Health website at www.state.nj.us/health/omh as well as on the NJDA website at www.njda.org/.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM