American Dental Association and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Issue Joint Statement on Litigation Settlement

ANCHORAGE, Alaska and CHICAGO, July 13, 2007—The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) and the American Dental Association (ADA) issued the following statement today:

“We are pleased to announce that the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) and the American Dental Association (ADA) have agreed to settle our legal dispute. With this chapter behind us, we pledge to cooperatively advance our best efforts toward improving the oral health of Alaska Natives.

“This settlement is a starting point for a new era of cooperation between the dental profession and the ANTHC and its affiliated Tribal health organizations in exploring ways to improve access to dental care in rural Alaska. The issue that has divided us—our difference of opinion concerning the scope of practice of dental health aide therapists—will not deter our efforts to advocate for increased resources for dental care in rural Alaska.

“Our cooperative efforts will include:

• Developing dental residency programs to create a “pipeline” of dentists who could help alleviate the backlog of care in remote areas;
• refining existing dental workforce models and developing new ones, including the ADA- developed community dental health coordinator (CDHC), to expand the availability of oral health education, prevention and treatment throughout the Alaska Native community;
• coordinating the placement of volunteer dentists in Tribal communities;
• and conducting an impartial, longitudinal study to determine the effectiveness of various workforce models, including the DHAT and CDHC, in improving access to oral health and oral health care in Tribal areas.

“In addition, both the ANTHC and the ADA pledge to continue our vigorous advocacy in Washington to ensure that Congress funds the Indian Health Service sufficiently to fill the excessive number of vacant dental positions in its dental programs.

“Finally, the ADA will contribute to the ANTHC Foundation to support efforts to promote preventive oral health in remote Alaska. ADA and ANTHC agree that prevention is the key to long-term success in improving oral health for Alaska Natives.”

About the American Dental Association
The not-for-profit ADA is the nation's largest dental association, representing more than 155,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public's health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA's state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance long has been a valuable and respected guide to consumer and professional products. For more information about the ADA, visit the Association's Web site at www.ada.org.

About the ANTHC
The nation’s largest tribally managed health services provider, ANTHC assumed management of statewide health services from the Indian Health Service in 1997. It operates programs in medical care, water and sanitation systems, health facilities, information technology, community health services, and professional recruiting. To provide quality services in the unique climate and vast distances of Alaska, ANTHC has developed innovative initiatives and technology that are international models. All Alaska Natives are both customers and owners of ANTHC through their tribes and tribal health organizations, which comprise the ANTHC board of directors. For more information, visit the Consortium’s Web site at www.anthc.org.

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