Mental health, like oral health, is integral to overall health and is also siloed in its own system. Join us for a poignant session exploring personal journeys with mental health and suicide, the significance of early diagnosis and treatment, and the critical importance of health equity. Harry will share his story of the challenges he encountered to find treatment for his daughter—who was ultimately lost to suicide at the age of 14, his path forward to help others, and where collective efforts can save lives. This talk will unravel systemic barriers to mental healthcare and the impact that stigmatizing regulations have on these critical issues. Emphasizing evidence-based practices, we’ll discuss ways to support those with mental illness or suicidal ideation, integrate mental health into overall healthcare, and advocate for policy changes to expand healthcare coverage and combat stigma. Our call to action will suggest what you can do on a personal, institutional, and policy level to make a difference, including a comprehensive look at important screening tools used by oral health professionals. Prepare to be motivated to drive change in your communities and beyond.

In this webinar you will:

• Identify key statistics and facts about youth mental health and its connection to oral health.
• Explain how untreated mental illness can impact both physical and oral health.
• Compare the barriers to mental health treatment across policy, institutional, professional, and personal levels.
• Demonstrate how mental health screening can be integrated into dental practices to support early intervention.

Speakers:
Harry Bruell lost his 14-year-old daughter to suicide nine years ago. Since that time, he changed careers to focus on mental health, shared his family’s story through a couple of books, and joined the boards of several organizations including the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder.  Professionally, Harry serves as CEO/President of PathPoint, a California nonprofit that annually supports over 3,700 people with developmental disabilities, people with mental health diagnoses, and children and families formally or informally connected to the child welfare system. He looks forward to sharing his experiences and learning from the collective wisdom of the dental public health community.

Sherri Lukes, RDH, MS, FAADH has been a dental hygienist for 44 years and holds advanced degrees in education.  She is Associate Professor Emerita, Southern Illinois University, where she taught oral pathology, public health and multicultural dental hygiene.  Research was concentrated in migrant oral health, oral pathology and public health issues, resulting in multiple peer reviewed publications. Sherri enjoys integrating her years of experience into CE courses to empower dental professionals in the process of care. While her area of expertise has historically been oral pathology, recent life experience has initiated a passion for mental health and suicide prevention with subsequent research and course development.

Sherri is an approved speaker of and holds a pathology fellowship in the American Academy of Dental Hygiene, is a past president of the Illinois Dental Hygienists’ Association, and a member of the American Academy of Oral Medicine. Community service includes 20+ years of mission trips to central/southern Mexico, delivering preventive care in an orphanage and remote villages. Honors include Community Service, Research, and Teacher of the Year awards while at SIU, IFLOSS Coalition/ Illinois Department of Public Health Oral Health Champion Award, the Sunstar/RDH Award of Distinction, Western Society of Periodontology Speaker of the Year and ADHA Award for Excellence in Dental Hygiene.

Can't attend live? The recording will be automatically available in your CE Smart Learning Center within 24 hours post-event. 1.5 CE can be earned after successful completion of a post-test.



The American Dental Hygienists’ Association is an approved provider of dental continuing education as recognized by the Dental Board of California, Provider #5238.