Department

• Community and Preventive Dentistry

Position

• Professor

Dr. McFarland is a past president of the American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD) and the first women to chair the American Dental Association’s (ADA) Council on Access, Prevention, and Interprofessional Relations (CAPIR). Dr. McFarland has worked extensively with communities, state legislators, and decision makers to fluoridate public water systems, establish public health clinics, and address oral health workforce needs. Her most recent efforts to improve access to care center on telehealth. Dr. McFarland has worked in private practice, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC’s) and with the Indian Health Services (IHS) in rural northeast Nebraska. Prior to entering academia as a full-time faculty member at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in 2006, she served as the dental director for the state of Nebraska for 15 years. Currently Dr. McFarland chairs the Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry at Creighton University School of Dentistry where she teaches dental public health, ethics and health communication. Dr. McFarland also serves as a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) consultant one day a week to the UNMC Pediatric Dental Residency Program at Children’s Hospital. In addition to teaching and research Dr. McFarland serves a mentor for minority and disadvantaged students interested in becoming health professionals.

Publications

Research and Scholarship Interests

• Access to Care
  Dental Workforce
  Public Health
  Rural Health
  Telehealth
  Interprofessional Education
  Collaborative Care
  Community-based dental education

Current Research Projects

• Access to Care
  Dental Workforce
  Rural Health
  Telehealth
  Interprofessional Education