Leadership and Legacy: Oral Health Milestones in Maternal and Child Health Promotion and Prevention OHRC
African American dental hygienist treating a young patient
African American dental hygienist treating a young patient.

1937

  • American Association of Public Health Dentistry established

Background

The American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD) was founded by a group of state dental directors to provide a forum to discuss the problems of directing state dental public health programs. Membership in the early years of the association was limited to state dental directors, their assistants, and U.S. Public Health Service dental consultants who worked closely with state health authorities. Early in 1943, the constitution and bylaws were revised to state, “The objectives of the association are to promote dental public health, maintain the ideals of organized dentistry in public dental projects, and afford opportunity for constructive discussion of administrative problems.”

Impact

Through the years, AAPHD has been effective in protecting the oral health interests of the public and, at the same time, of oral health public health agencies, programs, and personnel. Its chief contributions are (1) to serve as a medium of professional exchange of information, scientific and otherwise, through both its annual meeting and its publications; (2) to serve as a liaison with national, constituent, and component dental societies; (3) to continue to gain and maintain recognition for public health dentistry and to maintain its status; (4) to sponsor the American Board of Dental Public Health; and (5) to provide dental public health consultation to other professional associations, particularly the American Dental Association’s councils, bureaus, commissions, conferences, committees, publications, and staff.

American Association of Public Health Dentistry logoReproduced with permission from the American Association
of Public Health Dentistry.

In 1941, the first scientific publication devoted solely to public health dentistry was published by AAPHD; it continues to be published today as the Journal of Public Health Dentistry.

Source

American Association of Public Health Dentistry. American Association of Public Health Dentistry [website].

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