• Allan Formicola, Howard Bailit, Kim D'Abreu, Judith Stavisky, Ignatius Bau, George Zamora, and Henrie Treadwell.
• College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, 630 W. 168th St., Box 100, New York, NY 10032, USA. ajf3@columbia.edu
• J Am Dent Assoc. 2009 Mar 1; 140 (3): 346-53.

BackgroundThe Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, N.J., the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, Mich., and The California Endowment, Los Angeles, collaborated in funding a five-year (2002-2007) national demonstration program (Pipeline, Profession & Practice: Community-Based Dental Education [Dental Pipeline]) to reduce dental care access disparities. Fifteen dental schools were selected to participate in the Dental Pipeline program. The goals were to have senior students spend more time in community sites providing care to underserved patients; to prepare students to treat diverse, low-income patients; and to increase enrollment of underrepresented minority (URM) students.MethodsA national program office at Columbia University in New York City administered the Dental Pipeline program. The participating dental schools developed networks of community clinics and practices for student rotations, established courses in cultural competency and public health and implemented new programs to recruit URM students.ResultsThe average time senior students spent in community clinics and practices increased from 10 to 50 days; all schools developed courses in cultural competency and public health; and enrollment of UMR students increased 54.4 percent (excluding two of the schools) versus 16 percent in non-Dental Pipeline schools.ConclusionsOn average, the participating dental schools were successful in meeting program goals.

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