When looking at the American dental workforce, it becomes glaringly obvious that something is missing — Black dentists.
Black dentists only make up 3.8 percent of the U.S. dental workforce according to the most recent data from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute.
Cherae Farmer-Dixon, DDS, dean of Meharry Medical College's School of Dentistry in Nashville, spoke with Becker's to discuss why there are so few Black dentists and what can be done to increase diversity within the dental workforce.
Meharry Medical College is a historically Black college.
Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: Black dentists make up just 3.8 percent of the U.S. dental workforce. Why do you think that is?
Dr. Cherae Farmer-Dixon: I think that when you look at the number of people that are going to college and then going into the sciences, it's a challenge. And the cost of dental education. There's [also] that thing of educating the community on seeing dentistry as a viable profession to pursue. A lot of times, people model what they see. If they don't see within their communities or in their environment people that look like them in that profession, then that's not something that may even be on their radar — whether it's teaching, sports, nursing, or other professions. So it's about the process of working with elementary, middle, high school, and college teachers as well and being involved at those levels, so that you're educating the teachers and the counselors on dentistry as a profession and the role that they can play in guiding their students into those [careers].
Q: How does a lack of diversity harm the dental industry on a social and clinical level?
CFD: There have been studies that have shown that when people have a choice in who they go and visit, they would prefer to see someone who looks like them. That gives them a greater comfort level, a greater level of trust and a greater level of understanding. [This is] because they are seeing, [for example], a black female that looks like them, understanding the subtle female bond that you may not necessarily get from a male counterpart, and certainly, maybe not from a white male counterpart.
I think with that having that [connection], there's that sense of cultural competency and cultural understanding that goes along with it. Just because you become a dentist does not mean that you understand all cultures and can relate and connect with all cultures. We take our oath that we do no harm, provide quality care and will not discriminate against anyone, but that doesn't mean that you don't have a natural connection with an individual when they come in.
Q: What barriers need to be removed to help increase the Black dental workforce?
CFD: As opposed to saying what barriers, I like to say what opportunities exist.
The premise is that you start as early as preschool or kindergarten, beginning to plant the seed and mentoring kids. When you think about that, starting in kindergarten and mentoring your child for the next 12 years, that's a long time, and it doesn't stop there. I believe that there's power in numbers. By that I mean it's not the burden of any one group or individual — it's a collective and collaborative effort. Starting with kindergarten and making them see that having a healthy mouth is fun and not just working with those little children, but being involved in making sure that you're educating and engaging the family and the parents in that process as well. So it's a family initiative, of working with the students and working with the teachers.
So who can do this? Civic organizations, churches, sororities and fraternities. In my role, I am involved in all of those in different aspects. So for me it's, "How do I leverage the skill sets and the knowledge that I have in all of these groups?" I take dentistry and my passion for improving the workforce and increasing access to all of those [groups] and use it there.