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Article: The National Dental Association celebrates 81st anniversary: group escalates fight for healthier teeth among young blacks.
- Article from:
- Ebony
- Article date:
- March 1, 1994
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Johnson Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The National Dental Association (NDA), the largest and oldest Black organization of oral health professionals, was founded in 1913 by 29 Black dentists who were barred from membership in White professional groups. Their goal was to provide a forum for practicing Black dentists to enhance their skill and provide affordable dental care and education to the disenfranchised.
Today, 81 years later, the NDA has 6,000 members in 48 chapters worldwide. A primary concern of the group is attracting more Black students, particularly Black males, to choose dentistry as a career. "We have a 12 percent Black population in this country, but only 4 percent of the nation's ...