2021 Digital Grand Rounds: Providing Dental Care within Underserved African American Communities

Drs. Siobhian M. B. Sprott and Shelly D. Taylor were selected as Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s Joseph L. Henry Oral Health Fellows in Minority Health Policy for the 2020-2021 academic year. The Joseph L. Henry Oral Health Fellowship in Minority Health Policy, awarded each academic year, is an academic degree-granting program with the goal of preparing the next generation of leaders in minority health, health policy, and oral epidemiology. The program is named after Harvard School of Dental Medicine’s first African American full professor, Joseph L. Henry, who also served as the School’s interim dean from 1990-1991. The fellowship aims to improve the capacity of healthcare and to address the health needs of vulnerable populations 

Siobhian M. B. Sprott, DDS, MPA, is a pediatric dentist. Before accepting the Fellowship, she served as chief resident in pediatric dentistry at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston. Dr. Sprott previously worked as a general dentist in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia for ten years. She received her dental degree from Howard University College of Dentistry in 2008 and completed a General Practice Residency at Howard University Hospital in 2009. Dr. Sprott is driven by a desire to understand oral health care delivery from an organizational management perspective that engages the community and is committed to working with underserved pediatric populations.

Shelly D. Taylor, DMD, is the dental director of Upham’s Corner Health Center in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Before moving to Massachusetts, Dr. Taylor served as the dental director at Broward Community and Family Health Centers (BCFHC) in South Florida. Dr. Taylor is committed to public health and serving vulnerable populations. She is interested in designing programs that will help integrate medical and dental care, with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes and delivery of care. Dr. Taylor earned her dental degree from the University of Florida College of Dentistry in 2015 and an Advanced Education in General Dentistry Certificate from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in 2016.