Erik Klintman is pursuing his DMD  — and working to get lower-income pregnant women in Arizona the dental care they need.

A 31-year-old native of Waco, Texas, Klintman is pursuing both his DMD and Master of Public Health degree at the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health, an affiliate of A.T. Still University in Mesa.

In a recent interview with Incisal Edge dental lifestyle magazine, he shared with the Managing Editor Brian Dawson what drew him to this pursuit.

“The MPH [degree] necessitates what’s essentially a yearlong experience in which the student comes up with a topic that addresses a public-health issue. Mine is focused on the lack of dental coverage provided to pregnant women through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s Medicaid agency.

I’ve been spending a great deal of time researching to illuminate whether dental care for pregnant women may help reduce the incidence of pre-term and low-weight babies. In 2014, 86,848 women (in Arizona) gave birth, and of those, more than 6,000 were low-birthweight. The ultimate goal of my efforts is to see AHCCCS provide coverage to pregnant women.”

Read the full story at: https://viewer.zmags.com/publication/9dc6d3b8#/9dc6d3b8/14