Going International: Dentistry’s Geriatric Training Program is a
Model Worldwide
Dr. Abdel Rahim Mohammad, a
professor of Geriatric Dentistry and Oral Medicine, and Director of
Geriatric and Community Outreach Programs, is going international as
he takes the College of Dentistry’s programs around the world where
they serve as models for teaching and training in the field of
geriatric dentistry.
Having dedicated much of his professional life to providing oral
health care for the elderly, Dr. Mohammad is an expert on the
treatment of geriatric dentistry patients, and he has a wealth of
knowledge about the impact of an elderly population that is
increasing worldwide.
“Geriatric populations make up about 10 percent of the world’s total
population now, and that number is continuing to grow,” Mohammad
says. “This statistic matters because many elderly patients don’t
have sufficient access to dental care. They’re challenged by
financial problems, lack of transportation, and a shortage of
trained geriatric dentists. So the potential exists for an
underserved elderly population worldwide, and that’s why we’re
responding to requests from other universities in the U.S. and
internationally where there’s a need for geriatric dental
programs.”
Having received his Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S) degree from
Cairo University in Egypt, Dr. Mohammad has maintained international
academic affiliations that have positioned him to help in
developing geriatric dentistry programs at centers of learning in
numerous other countries, most recently in Poland, Puerto Rico,
Singapore, and Egypt.
In 2008, Dr. Mohammad served as a curriculum evaluator and an
advisor on accreditation for the
Suez Canal University (SCU) in
Egypt. Working with that university’s dentistry faculty members who
selected Ohio State as a benchmark institution, he evaluated the
existing D.D.S. program with the goal of developing new teaching and
training concepts -- based on Ohio State’s College of Dentistry
programs -- that would enable SCU to achieve international
accreditation.
Following
his work in Egypt, he presented a lecture at the
2009 Federation Dentaire Internationale (FDI) Annual World Dental Congress in
Singapore. As an authority on elderly patients’ dental needs, his
lecture focused on oral health care for ambulatory and
institutionalized geriatric patients. Following that presentation,
he began a new initiative with Singapore’s Ministry of Health and
the National University of Singapore aimed at developing a geriatric
dentistry program for teaching and clinical training.
Another dental education opportunity arose this year at the
University of Puerto Rico (UPR), where Dr. Mohammad worked with Dr.
Eric Torres, an assistant professor and director of dental clinics,
to create a model for pre-doctoral and graduate training programs in
geriatric dentistry. Their collaboration also produced an “exchange
of knowledge initiative” that will bring three dental faculty
members from the University of Puerto Rico to Ohio State’s College
of Dentistry to observe current geriatric dentistry treatments.
According
to Dr. Mohammad, as the worldwide population ages, the need for
dentistry programs for the elderly will expand, but the ability to
meet those needs will continue to be a challenge, especially for
developing nations. “Geriatric patients have complex health issues.
So it’s especially important to maintain their oral health and to
treat problems as soon as they arise, knowing that other age-related
complications will inevitably be present,” Mohammad says. “Many
developing countries have good universities that produce good
doctors and nurses, but they often don’t have dental education and
outreach programs that serve the elderly.”
The Poznan University of Medical Sciences in Poznan, Poland, is an
example of a well-respected university that is working to build a
more sophisticated geriatric dental education program. Serving as an
advisor for Poznan’s Centre for Medical Education, Dr. Mohammad’s
tasks include providing contemporary geriatric dental courses to
augment existing classes at Poznan University, as well as developing
an international exchange program between Ohio State’s and Poznan’s
dental schools.
As a lifelong educator, clinician, and geriatric health advocate,
Dr. Mohammad has written more than 100 scholarly publications on
clinical dentistry, and he is the author of a foundational textbook,
“Geriatric Dentistry,” which is now in its 6th edition. An authority
on geriatric dental treatment and the concomitant health care needs
of elderly patients, Dr. Mohammad is a frequent guest lecturer at
national and international conferences on geriatric and
community-based dentistry.
[November 2010]
