Support from Social Sciences Faculty

Faculty with backgrounds in public health can help design appropriate coursework in such subjects as epidemiology and health delivery systems. Psychology, sociology, and anthropology faculty can assist dental faculty shape this part of the curriculum, which aims to develop graduates with:

1. An understanding of the intra-personal, inter-personal, cultural, and social forces that influence patient and practitioner behavior.
2. Appropriate skills for working with racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse dental patients that focus on clinical behavioral resources such as communication skills and cultural awareness.
3. A recognition and understanding that the mind and body are not separate entities, and a focus on patient’s social, cultural, emotional, and physiologic dental experiences.