ADEA eLearn
Trauma-informed Care in Dental Education: Building Safe and Supportive Patient-Centered Practices
Includes a Live Web Event on 06/25/2025 at 12:00 PM (EDT)
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Trauma-informed Care (TIC) is an essential framework for fostering compassionate, patient-centered practices in dental education and clinical settings. This webinar will explore how dental professionals can integrate TIC principles to enhance patient trust, improve treatment outcomes and create inclusive learning environments. Participants will gain insights into recognizing the impact of trauma on oral health, understanding patient behaviors through a trauma-informed lens and applying strategies that promote psychological safety and well-being in both patient interactions and educational settings.
By engaging in real-world case studies, interactive discussions and expert insights, attendees will leave with actionable strategies to implement TIC in their dental practices, curricula and institutional policies.
Note: This session is ideal for dental educators, faculty, administrators, clinicians and students committed to fostering a more empathetic and patient-centered approach in oral health care.
Learning Objectives:
- Define trauma-informed care and its relevance in dental education and clinical practice.
- Identify common signs of trauma and understand its impact on patient behavior, treatment adherence and oral health outcomes.
- Apply trauma-informed communication techniques to foster trust, reduce patient anxiety and enhance the overall patient experience.
- Use strategies for creating safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environments for students and faculty, incorporating TIC principles into dental education curricula.
- Develop policies and procedures within dental institutions that support a trauma-informed approach to patient care and student engagement.
Original Release Date: June 25, 2025
Expiration Date: June 25, 2028
Questions? Contact learn@adea.org
Disclaimer
The purpose of this presentation is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional care and is not intended for use for the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this presentation express their own experience, opinions and conclusions. Guest statements do not express the viewpoint of ADEA. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity or therapy should not be construed as an ADEA endorsement.
CE Information
The American Dental Education Association is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider.
An evaluation form is available to participants after the conclusion of the live webinar. To earn continuing education (CE) credit for participation in the webinar, the online evaluation must be completed in full by June 25, 2028. After completing the evaluation, webinar participants can print and save the CE Verification Form.
ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry.
The American Dental Education Association designates this activity for 1.0 continuing education credit.
All speakers agree that neither they nor members of their immediate family have any financial relationships with commercial entities that may be relevant to their presentation.
Sara Bendoraitis, M.Ed.
Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Learning
American Dental Education Association
Sara Bendoraitis is the Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Learning at the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). In this role, Sara champions the importance of a diverse and inclusive environment and leads the creation of strategies to foster a strong sense of belonging and create a welcoming, safe, equitable, and inclusive culture in academic dentistry.
Sara was formerly with OPTICA, where she was Director of Membership Program Development. From 2011 to 2018, she was Director of Programming, Outreach and Advocacy at American University’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion. She began her work at American University as Director of their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Resource Center in 2007 till 2011. Sara has an M.S. in Education Administration from Texas A&M University and a BA in Women’s Studies and Political Science from the University of Rhode Island.
Sara has presented at national conferences on student identity support and advocacy, gender-neutral housing best practices, academic and student affairs collaboration, assessing Safe Zone programs, leadership, unconscious bias and women’s and gender centers. Sara also been a consultant for various federal government agencies, national and international non-profits, higher education institutions, and the United States Naval Academy.
She has served as a board member the NASPA Center for Scholarship, Research, and Professional Development for Women, a NASPA Regional Representative, the Education, Advocacy, and Outreach Chair and Co-Chair for the Consortium of Higher Education Lesbian Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Ally Resource Professionals, and a member of the Council on the Advancement of Standards (CAS) in Higher Education Board of Directors. In her spare time, Sara can be found spending time with her family as well as running the HY-Swap, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing and circulating items in good condition within the community, providing savings for local families and reducing waste.
Speaker agrees that neither I nor any member of my family have a financial arrangement or affiliation with any corporate organization offering financial support or grant monies for this continuing education program, nor do I have a financial interest in any commercial products or services I will discuss in the presentation.
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