2011
- Advancing Oral Health in America (report) released
Background
This report was produced to highlight the vital role that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) can play in improving the nation’s oral health and oral health care. The report recommends that DHHS design an oral health initiative that has clearly articulated goals, is coordinated effectively, is adequately funded, and has high-level accountability. The report also stresses three key areas needed for successfully maintaining oral health as a priority issue: strong leadership, sustained interest, and the involvement of multiple stakeholders from both the public and the private sector.
Impact
Federal health agencies, health professionals, policymakers, researchers, and public and private health organizations have access to a valuable resource.
Source
Institute of Medicine. 2011. Advancing Oral Health in America. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
- Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations (report) released
Background
This report provides an assessment of the oral health system of care in the United States; explores its strengths, weaknesses, and challenges; describes a vision for the system; and recommends strategies to achieve that vision. The report examines issues that affect underserved populations that are most vulnerable to oral diseases and the role of safety net dental providers, both public and private, who serve them, with a specific focus on the provision of oral health services to women and children.
Impact
The report presents a vision for oral health care in the United States in which everyone has access to high-quality oral health care throughout life.
Source
Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2011. Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Comprehensive oral health care services are increasingly delivered in established school-based health centers.
- School-Based Comprehensive Oral Health Services established
Background
Between 1915 and 1950, dentists affiliated with dental clinics in public schools provided a major portion of children’s preventive oral health care and treatment, especially for children whose parents could not afford to purchase oral health services. After World War II, children’s oral health care began shifting away from school-based and toward private practices.
The Maternal and Child Health Bureau established the School-Based Comprehensive Oral Health Services (SBCOHS) grant program to integrate comprehensive oral health care into established school-based health centers (SBHCs) to serve children at high risk for dental caries (tooth decay). The program was designed to help ensure the delivery of high-quality oral health education and preventive and restorative services to children and adolescents enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Impact
The delivery of comprehensive oral health services through SBHCs is a valuable means to improve timely access to and delivery of comprehensive oral health care for children and adolescents at high risk for dental caries. For example SBCOHS funding was used in Arkansas to support the Future Smiles Dental Clinic: State Oral Health Collaborative Systems project that increased access to oral health care for children in elementary school who participated in the National School Lunch Program in the Little Rock school district during the period 2004–2007.
Source
Maternal and Child Health Bureau. 2011. School-Based Comprehensive Oral Health Services Grant Program [guidance]. Rockville, MD: Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
Mouden L. 2007. Future Smiles Dental Clinic: State Oral Health Collaborative Systems (SOHCS) Grant—Final Narrative Report. Little Rock, AR: Arkansas Department of Health, Office of Oral Health.
Schlossman SL, Brown J, Sedlak M. 1986. The Public School in American Dentistry. Santa Monica, CA: The Rand Corporation.
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