Recently completed
Oral health is essential to general health and well-being, but there is an epidemic of oral diseases affecting vulnerable populations—poor children, older people, and many members of racial and ethnic minority groups. With support from a coalition of sponsors, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will build on these reports by convening a broad group of stakeholders in a public workshop to discuss opportunities to sustainably implement innovative models, practices, and strategies to reduce disparities and improve oral health in the US.
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Workshop_in_brief
·2025
Oral health is essential to overall health and well-being, but an epidemic of oral diseases - with regional dental professional shortages and a lack of dental insurance - is leaving many without sufficient dental care. In November 2024, the National Academies hosted a hybrid public workshop to discu...
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Description
A planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will organize and conduct a public workshop that brings together experts and key stakeholders to explore innovative practices and models for advancing oral health in the US across the lifespan.
Topics discussed at the workshop may include consideration of:
- National oral health goals for “Zero at Six” (zero cavities at six years of age for all children), and “Twenty at Eighty” (all 80 year olds to have 20 teeth).
- Sustainable solutions that improve access to oral health services in public and private spaces (urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal communities and territories)
- Models that achieve meaningful oral and systemic health integration.
- Models to empower all consumers to make informed choices related to oral health and models that encourage healthy workplace and school policies
- Investments in public oral health education campaigns, including celebrity and social media influencer voices
- Innovations that will improve oral health in the next 5-10 years.
A proceedings in brief of the presentations and discussions at the workshop will be prepared by a designated rapporteur in accordance with institutional guidelines.
Contributors
Sponsors
American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
American College of Dentists
American Dental Association
ARCORA
CareQuest Institute
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Colgate
Delta Dental Foundation
Gary and Mary West Foundation
Henry Schein, Inc.
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Santa Fe Group
The Henry Schein Cares Foundation
United Concordia Dental
Staff
Sharyl Nass
Lead
Tracy Lustig
Lead
Austen Applegate
Chidinma J. Chukwurah
Major units and sub-units
Center for Health, People, and Places
Lead
Health Care and Public Health Program Area
Lead