Dr. Ruth Goldblatt, clinical associate professor in the School of Dental Medicine, has been named as a consultant by Oral Health America (OHA) for its Wisdom Tooth Project (WTP) web portal. Goldblatt plans to build a framework for community engagement and will be hosting a series of conversations with colleagues, advocates, caregivers and others statewide who are actively addressing barriers to care for older adults.

The long-term vision is for the sustainability of a web portal with meaningful regional content as well as national resources. Working with Oral Health America, the goal is to create a web portal for use by decision-makers in older adults’ oral health care.

According to Goldblatt, “The information and alliances made here in Connecticut will assist Oral Health America in creating a model for the web portal. I plan to call on many colleagues in dentistry as well as other health disciplines to be a part of this wonderful insightful project.”

Goldblatt is a graduate of UConn’s School of Dental Medicine and returned in 2001 to teach geriatrics and special care.  She brings dental students on rotation at the Hebrew Home and Hospital in West Hartford. Aside from her clinical and teaching responsibilities, she is core faculty for the Urban Service Track, and is co- investigator on two NIH grants involving oral health research in the elderly and disabled working jointly with the Institute for Community Research and the North Central Area Agency on Aging. A description of the projects can be found at www.projectgoh.org.

“I am so excited to be able to be a part of this project with Oral Health America” says Goldblatt. “I am looking forward to putting my skills, knowledge and resources together with OHA to make an impact both nationally and here in Connecticut regarding oral health and older adults.”

Follow the UConn Health Center on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.