Dental Pipeline Program: a national program linking dental schools with the issue of access to care.

The Dental Pipeline Program grew out of work at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine in the 1990s designed to address access to oral healthcare needs in New York City. Since then the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and The California Endowment have combined to fund the largest dental education program in history. The Dental Pipeline Program has involved 23 dental schools in two phases. The goal of the program is to address issues of access (a) by providing dental care with volunteers in communities in need, (b) by seeking either full- or part-time positions in community health facilities, and (c) by preparing dentists to be advocates for the needs of the underserved. This is a preliminary report of the types of curricular changes that have been introduced and some promising results in terms of oral health care provided, minority enrollments in dental schools, and expressed intentions to practice in underserved areas.