Pathways to Smiles
- Pathways to Smiles
- HURE Report
- Diversity Checklist
-
Faculty Diversity Toolkit
- Chapter 1: Introduction
- Chapter 2: Barriers and Challenges to Recruiting and Retaining Diverse Faculty
- Chapter 3: Best Practice Highlights—Recruiting and Hiring Diverse Faculty
- Chapter 4: Best Practice Highlights—Retaining Diverse Faculty
- Chapter 5: Conclusion
- Appendix B: Diversity and Inclusion Terminology
- Strategic Framework 1-1
- Policy on Diversity
- Climate Study
- Student Leaders for Social Change
Questions?
Contact us at PathwaysToSmiles@adea.org.
ADEA Pathways to Smiles Initiative
Building a diverse, prepared oral health workforce for the future!
Pathways to Smiles, an initiative of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), is dedicated to strengthening partnerships with Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) nationwide.
AHECs, representing over 300 program offices and centers that serve more than 85% of U.S. counties, are instrumental in sparking youth interest in health careers. This collaboration focuses on building a diverse, prepared oral health workforce for rural and underserved communities by improving the supply, distribution, and accessibility of oral health professionals.
Together, ADEA and AHECs aim to address critical oral health workforce gaps and increase the number of diverse oral health professionals. In the first year the pilot program’s goal is to reach 500+ students throughout the country.
Program Overview
Program Locations
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Goals for 2025
Build awareness of and interest in the oral health professions among 14–18-year-old students across the United States.
Impact a minimum of 500 students through a variety of large and small programs at 10 AHEC locations.
Create long-term tracking for student engagement and interest in the oral health professions that follow attendees through their middle, high school and college journeys.
Timeline
- RFP opens on Jan. 27, 2025 and closes on Feb. 28, 2025
- Review of applications: March 10–21, 2025
- Host sites announced: April 21, 2025
- Onsite training (ADEA Headquarters): May 2025 (Date TBD)
- Launch programs: June 1 – Nov. 15, 2025
- Final evaluations due to ADEA: Dec. 1, 2025
Who Should Apply?
Participation in this project is best suited for:
- AHECs with an existing summer health program that is missing a robust oral health focus.
- AHECs located in communities that are underserved by oral health professionals looking to add an oral health program.
- AHECs serving underrepresented and marginalized communities in oral health such as Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Appalachian, and/or rural communities.
Funding and Budget
Each AHEC selected to participate in the 2025 pilot program will be eligible for funding to support their participation. The funding amount will be determined based on the applicant’s proposed budget and the anticipated impact of their program. Funding requests should be based on demonstrated need and may not exceed $8,000.
Please Note: As part of the grant reporting requirements, AHECs will be responsible for submitting a detailed financial plan outlining how the funds provided will be allocated and used.
Project Requirement
To be selected to participate in this pilot initiative, AHECs must demonstrate the capacity to meet the following requirements:
- Attend the two-day in-person training in Washington, DC in May 2025. (A virtual option may be available upon request.)
- Receive training and gain understanding of the program’s curriculum, activities and structure.
- Up to two attendees from each host location can attend.
- All travel, hotel accommodations and meals will be covered by ADEA.
- Market and recruit high school students to attend a multi-hour program.
A minimum of 20 student attendees per event. - Manage the budget, venue arrangements, supplies and catering needs for each event.
- Implement program activities to ensure alignment with intended curricular learning outcomes.
- Coordinate communication for attendee registration, speaker engagement and support staff management.
- Submit final reporting to ADEA, including:
- Pre- and post-event survey results.
- Demographic data of attendees.
- A list of attendees, including contact information, if available.
Note: Student contact information is optional but contributes to the long-term tracking of the program’s impact.