Primary oral health care and smiles for life curriculum adaptation for nurses training in low income countries: A case of Tanzanian context

Abstract

Primary oral health care is essential for the overall wellness of all client populations, especially those living in rural communities. Nurses make up the majority of primary care providers in Tanzania. An opportunity for the lead author to participate as an Oral Health Global Scholar allowed for the exchange of interprofessional oral health knowledge and practice competencies and for the adaptation of a U.S. based oral health curriculum to meet the context of care in Tanzania. This paper identifies the gap in oral health care in Tanzania, describes the knowledge and practice exchanges, and next steps with the adaptation of the Smiles for Life curriculum in Tanzania. The aims is to share interprofessional experience designed to develop a user-friendly curriculum and train primary health care nurses in Tanzania, on applying modern concepts such as a collaborative approach in management of the oral health needs of the patient. Nursing is a profession that has multiple roles and functions which can be utilized according to the situation and need of the community served. Therefore, interprofessional collaborations among health care providers are important to the improvement of quality oral health services.