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The North Carolina Caring Dental Professionals was created by a Legislative Statute in the North Carolina General Assembly (N.C.G.S. 90-48.2). The North Carolina Dental Society supported the legislation for more than two sessions before it passed. The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiner's Rule 21 N.C.A.C. 162.0101 set the Caring Dental Professionals Program in motion after the legislation passed the General Assembly on April 1, 1994. The North Carolina Dental Society loaned operating funds to the Program until the first year's funds were collected with the 1995 license renewal. The Program is now funded through assessments that are paid by dentists and hygienists upon license renewals and a fee structure that is paid monthly by all participants.

The Program is operated under the auspices of a tripartite group consisting of the North Carolina Dental Society, The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners and the University of North Carolina Dental School. The Board of Directors consists of two representatives from each of these three groups, as well as two Dental Hygienists, a Dental Volunteer Coordinator and a Hygienist Volunteer Coordinator.

The members of the Board of Directors are nominated by their sponsoring Agency for staggered three year terms and may be re-appointed at the discretion of the sponsoring Agency. The Chief Executives of the sponsoring Agencies serve as ex-officio Board members. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors are elected annually by the Board members. The Board of Directors meets at least twice a year and receives no compensation.

The Program of the North Carolina Caring Dental Professionals is available to the approximately 3,618 resident licensed Dentists and 4,455 Hygienists of North Carolina, as well as the faculty and students of the School of Dentistry. Dental Assistants are not included at this time since funds are derived from the assessment attached to the licensing process. However, if any member of a dental team needed assistance, the Program would, as a good neighbor, help the impaired team member.

The Program has a volunteer speaker's bureau that is available to speak at appropriate functions around the State. The Program staff frequently visit District and County Dental Society Meetings and maintain a booth at both the Holiday Dental conference and the May Dental Conference at Myrtle Beach. The Executive Director writes articles that are pertinent to Dental professionals' well being, as well as alcohol/drug abuse, to be published in the newsletters of the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners and the North Carolina Dental Society. The Program has its own Newsletter, Caring Connections, which is published four times yearly with a full mailing twice yearly to all licensed Dentists and Hygienists in North Carolina.

The Program's volunteers, called Peer Assistants, offer one-on-one support, monitoring and guidance through the process of intervention, treatment, advocacy, professional reintegration to practice, and recovery. While many of the Peer Assistants are recovering themselves, some have both academic background and personal experience with chemical dependency and/or abuse in their families. Formal training is provided to the Peer Assistants and other volunteers twice yearly on pertinent clinical topics related to impairment, intervention, monitoring, relapse, and other recovery issues.

Non-profit fund-raising is currently being developed in order to provide financial loan assistance and scholarships to impaired Dental professionals who are unable to pay for treatment and need assistance.

The North Carolina Caring Dental Professionals Program is accountable for all funds and is subject to audit and reporting as any State Agency.

If you know of a Dentist or Hygienist who has a problem with alcohol or other drugs or emotional illness, please call. We are available 24 hours a day and all calls are confidential.

North Carolina Caring Dental Professionals
P.O. Box 1258
Southern Pines, NC 28388