Elizabeth Stanko Alpert, DDS, MPH (she/her) is a part-time faculty member in the Department of Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology (OHPE) at Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM). She wears several hats in her Initiative work, which include conceptualizing studies, analyzing and interpreting data, and working on community-engaged research.
How long have you been collaborating with the Initiative to Integrate Oral Health and Medicine? Discuss your role.
I first joined the team as a research assistant when I was wrapping up my public health training at Harvard Chan in 2020. After completing my MPH, I stayed on with the Initiative. I’d admired HSDM’s innovative research centered on medical-dental integration since I was a dental student, and it was a wonderful opportunity to learn under the mentorship of Jane Barrow.
What are some of your current projects that are related to the Initiative?
I spend most of my time on three projects, collaborating colleagues from a variety of disciplines:
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In the Nurse Practitioner-Dentist Model, we are testing viability and sustainability of medical billing processes for primary care delivery in an academic dental setting.
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Secondly, through the HRSA-funded Predoctoral Oral Health Education and Training for an Aging America (POHETAA) Program, we’re working on adapting the existing HSDM curriculum to prepare students to treat an aging population.
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And lastly, I’m investigating the publicly available National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) data to investigate dental disparities among Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs (CYSHCN).
What attracted you to work that prioritizes the integration of oral health and primary care?
Early in dental school, I realized my passion for community outreach. I began noodling on ways that I could apply my oral health knowledge and skill set in ways that could contribute to the overall health of communities.
As a dentist, I focused my clinical training on treating adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and older adults residing in long-term care facilities. With every individual patient interaction, I began to grasp the extent of systems-level barriers to care.
I knew that I wanted to work on advancing policies promoting health equity and subsequent program evaluation. After my residency, I read an interview with Dr. Brian Swann where he advised to take one step at a time in pursuing opportunities related in the direction of your interests, rather than perfectly curating a linear career path. This was perfect advice for me, as following my passion to pursue additional public health training led me to this position at HSDM that is perfect for my training and interests.
In your opinion, what does the future of integrated primary care and oral health look like?
In the future of integrated primary care and oral health, I visualize providers and health care team members practicing at the top of their skill sets and scopes, supported by equitable, innovative systems promoting “whole person” models of care and maximizing efficiency. Evidence-based policies will consistently be updated and implemented through a continuous cycle of program evaluation, including use of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
There will be direct, open communication between team members and patients, and patients have full understanding of the pertinent risks, benefits, and alternatives of healthcare procedures. If transitions of care are indicated, there will be warm hand-offs between providers.
Given the dedication of an amazing group of individuals in public health, I am hopeful that a future of integrated care is on the horizon. There are ever-increasing conversations about the integration of oral health, primary care, and behavioral health, and a mountain of supporting evidence continues to accumulate.
In the meantime, we need to prioritize provider-level engagement in integrated systems and identify how to optimize where we currently stand with our system of health insurance and systems.