El Paso Promotoras Connect Dental Patients to Early Diabetes Care
Photo courtesy of TTUHSC El Paso
El Paso dental patients are receiving diabetes risk screenings, health education and same-day referrals through Diabetes and the Dentist, a community health initiative led by the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Hunt School of Dental Medicine.
Community health workers Maria Land and Laura Renovato help patients understand their screening results and connect with primary care resources. Known as promotores de salud, the two work through Texas Tech Health El Paso’s Community Health Outreach and Education Program.
Dental staff use the American Diabetes Association Risk Test and a finger-prick HbA1c test that takes only minutes. Of 281 patients screened at four community dental practices during the program’s current phase, 111—roughly 40%—were identified as being at risk. All 71 patients whose results indicated prediabetes or diabetes received same-day referrals to primary care providers. Screened patients also received health education materials and QR codes linking to local diabetes resources.
Since the program relaunched in February, Land and Renovato have participated in 19 outreach events at the Texas Tech Dental Oral Health Clinic. Those events have reached more than 600 community members and included 150 individual diabetes consultations and education sessions.
The program focuses on the connection between oral health and diabetes. Gum disease can worsen blood sugar control, while uncontrolled diabetes can accelerate gum disease. The initiative is funded by the Paso del Norte Health Foundation.
A new two-year, $124,933 grant will expand the program through continued partnerships with two private dental offices and partnerships with two additional offices. It will also support training for more promotores, dental office staff, Hunt School of Dental Medicine students and El Paso Community College dental hygiene students. The program aims to screen 300 to 400 new patients over the next two years.
To schedule an exam and screening at the Texas Tech Dental Oral Health Clinic, call 915-215-6700.