California Pipeline Program: Phase II.

The California schools' accomplishments in the national Dental Pipeline Program led to funding by The California Endowment of a California Pipeline Phase II program. There are a number of unique aspects of this program that provide great promise for the future of dental education and oral health for underserved populations. First, they include the collaboration of the five and soon to be six California dental schools in multiple areas. The schools have been able to demonstrate their ability to accomplish things together that could not have been done individually. Second, collaboration has been established among the California dental schools and other Dental Pipeline Program partners, including the California Dental Association, the California Primary Care Association, the Hispanic Dental Association, the National Dental Association, and other community partners. This has created a major force in California that has the ability to influence strategy, policy, funding, care, and education in a way that has not been previously possible. Lessons learned from this program will have broad implications for health and educational strategy.