Dental Team Experience (DTE): a five year experience.

PURPOSE Several European countries have interprofessional training for health care professional students, including dental and dental hygiene students. However, very little training exists in the U.S. where dentists and dental hygienists are educated together. The 4th World Congress of Preventive Dentistry and the American Dental Education Association have stated that teamwork must be taught in the dental professions. In 2005, Eastern Washington University began an interdisciplinary team experience in which graduating dental hygiene, dental assisting and dental students worked in an interdisciplinary team providing care to the underserved. A new team was formed each year for the next 5 years. This paper addresses the establishment and outcomes of this interdisciplinary experience.