3 Things to Know About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Dentistry
In recent years, corporate America has opened its eyes to an extremely important aspect of training and education: diversity, equity and inclusion. As companies and employees undergo “DEI” training and learn to recognize how that impacts their work, the questions and answers raised can be challenging. The dental industry is no exception.
These conversations, however, are extremely important to dentistry, and to improving the oral health of our members, patients, and communities. That’s why at Delta Dental of Massachusetts, it's an issue we’re deeply committed to.
It’s easy to get started. Here are three things for dental teams to know about DEI.
1. There’s a difference between diversity and inclusion.
The word diversity can mean something different for everyone. Many people discuss “DEI” as one concept, or use the words diversity, equity and inclusion, interchangeably to mean the same thing. That’s not actually the case – you can have diversity without inclusion. As Dr. Joy Void-Holmes says, people should think of diversity as the “what” and inclusion as the “how” when it comes to DEI. “You can invite me to the dance, and that’s diversity. But if you don’t ask me to dance, there’s no inclusion,” she explains.
2. Unconscious biases are real and can impact oral health outcomes.
Many people have heard of unconscious bias – you may even have an unconscious bias toward this topic! This happens because your brain is actively working, even when you're not thinking, and absorbing messages around you and automatically processing information. This means your brain has already formatted thoughts that are often influenced by different stereotypes that impact how you act and how you judge a situation.
In health care, this can lead to negative outcomes and false assumptions. Dental teams should be especially mindful of that when treating patients so it doesn’t lead to poorer health outcomes. One example of this may be assuming that people of different backgrounds won’t understand the information you’re giving them about a particular type of care, so you don’t give it, which can have a direct impact on a patient’s health.
3. Cultural competency training will help you deliver effective, efficient care.
One way to help address unconscious bias is through cultural competency training. In fact, many states are requiring cultural competency training for licensure renewal – a recognition of how important this is to providing effective care.
Culture is dynamic and constantly changing, including everything from the music you listen to, the food you eat, and the way you approach health care. While one person can’t know every facet of every culture, for those providing dental care, there are cultural differences that can directly impact a person’s oral health and how they are treated. For example, for many African Americans, oral health care was always considered a luxury and not a necessity. And for Hispanic families, cultural diets that include a lot of rice and starchy foods can impact oral health.
When we have a better understanding of those we’re taking care of, we can build better relationships and build the kind of trust that we all know translates to better patient outcomes.
For providers interested in learning more about diversity, equity and inclusion, Delta Dental of Massachusetts is sponsoring a webinar with Dr. Joy Void-Holmes in October, diving deeper into the topic and how it applies to dentistry. You can also watch our latest Pearls of Wisdom for an introduction to Dr. Void-Holmes and the topic of DEI.