The number of people in the United States population with disabilities and other special needs is growing dramatically. These individuals present unique challenges for oral health professionals in planning and carrying out dental treatment and for the oral health delivery system. Because it has been recognized that the current delivery system is not working well for these populations, new workforce, financing, and delivery models are beginning to emerge that may hold promise for creating and maintaining oral health for currently underserved populations, including people with disabilities and other special needs. This article discusses the implications of this for the oral health profession, describes the challenges of providing oral health services for this population, and discusses the implications of these challenges for the organization of the oral health delivery system.

Original post by Paul Glassman, Paul Subar and many thanks to them and their entry and picture of their BMX Bike

Oral health disparities refers to the existence of differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of oral diseases and other adverse health conditions, as well as the use of health care services, among specific population groups in the United States. Existence of disparities in oral health status, accessing and using the oral health care delivery system, and receiving treatment depending on gender, race or ethnicity, education, income, disability, geographic location, and sexual orientation have been documented. Different states have initiated a series of steps as tools to document, assess, develop strategies, and monitor progress in efforts to eliminate or reduce oral health disparities in the United States.

Original post by Amit Chattopadhyay and many thanks to them and their entry and picture of their BMX Bike

This article examines the financing of dental care in the United States. The major issues addressed include the amount and sources of funds, the reasons for increased dental care expenditures, the comparison of dental care with other medical care expenditures, the policy implications of current trends, and some cautious predictions about the financing of dental care in the next 10 to 20 years. The supply of dental services is expected to increase substantially in the next 10 to 20 years with more dental school graduates, a new midlevel practitioner, and greater use of allied dental health personnel. Whether the supply of services will grow faster than the demand for care is unknown.

Original post by Howard Bailit, Tryfon Beazoglou and many thanks to them and their entry and picture of their BMX Bike

Effective communication with patients is the cornerstone of quality dental care and oral health outcomes. Oral health literacy skills are critical to empowering individuals’ ability to improve their oral health. A large part of the American public has low health literacy skills. Low health literacy contributes to disease and is costly. Being able to understand health information and how to obtain services is critical to oral health management. The communication skills of the dental team are pivotal to increasing oral health literacy skills of Americans.

Original post by Alice M. Horowitz, Dushanka V. Kleinman and many thanks to them and their entry and picture of their BMX Bike

At present no process is in place in the United States to comprehensively monitor the national burden of oral diseases from the perspective of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), yet available evidence shows that a substantial percentage of the adult population rates their oral health poorly. This article reviews applications of OHRQoL in dental public health. The authors specifically review its use, contributions, and needed advances in: (1) monitoring the impacts of oral diseases on OHRQoL at the national level, and in public health surveillance at the state and local levels; (2) treatment outcomes research and program evaluation; and (3) clinical practice.

Original post by R. Gary Rozier, Bhavna T. Pahel and many thanks to them and their entry and picture of their BMX Bike

A general understanding of the measurement of dental diseases can help practitioners in the process of assessing the patient’s future risk of disease. More importantly, as clinical studies shift from the traditional academic setting to practice-based networks, practitioners might play a more significant role in research. An important issue in oral health disease management in the future will be the standardization of clinical criteria and the development of alternative mechanisms of data collection for epidemiologic purposes.

Original post by Amit Chattopadhyay, Oscar Arevalo, Woosung Sohn and many thanks to them and their entry and picture of their BMX Bike

Demographic changes over the coming decades will heighten the challenges to both the dental profession and the nation. The expected growth in the numbers of racial and ethnic minorities and the concomitant growth of immigrant populations are likely to lead to worsening of oral health disparities. Their consequences are becoming increasingly evident, as the profession strives to improve the oral health of all Americans. The increasing diversity of the population, together with the importance of cultural beliefs and behaviors that affect health outcomes, will require ways to enhance provider-patient communications and oral health literacy. One important means by which to promote oral health in diverse populations is to develop a dental workforce that is both culturally and linguistically competent, as well as one that is as culturally diverse as the American population.

Original post by Raul I. Garcia, Cynthia A. Cadoret, Michelle Henshaw and many thanks to them and their entry and picture of their BMX Bike

This issue of Dental Clinics of North America is a succinct examination of the discipline of dental public health. As guest editors, we have provided a platform on which the many facets of the discipline could be presented and describe its vast domain and truly interdisciplinary nature. We expect that the readers of this issue will develop a deeper understanding of the relevance of dental public health to the practice of clinical dentistry. In the interest of brevity and trimming redundancy, topics related to dental public health that have been addressed by other recent issues of Dental Clinics of North America were not included here.

Original post by Oscar Arevalo, Amit Chattopadhyay and many thanks to them and their entry and picture of their BMX Bike