The OEPD was first formed in 2003 as the Office of Educational Partnerships and acquired its current name in 2007. Since then, the number and size of outreach programs supported by OEPD have grown significantly, thanks to the motivation of our dental students, faculty and staff to provide high quality oral health services and education to those with lack of access to care on a volunteer basis outside the walls of the dental school. A major contributor to the growth of our programs has also been a long-term partnership with the AmeriCorps program in Washington State since 2011. With the goal of improving oral healthcare access and reducing oral health disparities, the scope of the office includes workforce diversity development programs and clinical care service learning partnerships with local and regional community organizations, including Eastern Washington and Alaska.
