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Dental BoardsEvery state has a dental board that was created to establish licensing requirements for dental team members and to protect the public regarding oral health care issues. Since the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) is the only organization exclusively dedicated to serving the needs and interests of the general dentist, AGD members are encouraged to attend state dental board meetings and to be active and involved members of their local dental boards. For information on upcoming dental board meetings, please contact the AGD Government Relations department. Click here to find out how to contact your state dental board. The AGD recognizes that it’s important for state dental boards to be aware of what is happening in general dentistry as a profession, as well as with what is going on in other states. Our quarterly newsletter, AGDtranscript, addresses that need and is sent to state dental boards every January, April, July, and October.
HealthyPeople.gov is a federal government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. For 30 years, Healthy People has established benchmarks and monitored progress in order to:
· Encourage collaborations across sectors.
· Guide individuals toward making informed health decisions.
· Measure the impact of prevention activities.
On Dec. 2, 2010, HHS released Healthy People 2020, a 10-year agenda for improving the nation’s health. The Healthy People 2020 report includes a section on Oral Health, with the ultimate goal to “… prevent and control oral and craniofacial diseases, conditions, and injuries, and improve access to preventive services and dental care.”
While Healthy People 2020 reports that there have been major improvements to the nation’s oral health status, some challenges remain, especially in terms of barriers that prevent patients of all ages from receiving much-needed dental health care. This issue has been discussed in a variety of reports issued by several agencies, including the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM).
Additionally, there are new concerns regarding the increase of tooth decay in preschool children. A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publication, “Trends in Oral Health Status: United States, 1988-1994 and 1999-2004,” reported that dental caries (tooth decay) in children ages two to five have increased from 24 to 28 percent between 1988-1994 and 1999-2004.
State dental boards have the ability to affect the Healthy People 2020 goals through licensure and continuing education programs that encourage dentists to help underserved populations. To date, 38 states have programs that allow volunteer licensure of retired and out-of-state dentists, and 12 states allow dentists to earn continuing education credits for volunteer/pro bono work. Some states, including Maryland, also construct Board Orders to include pro bono dental services, when the violations do not include standard of care. The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) also wants to help positively affect Healthy People 2020. And in December 2011, the AGD signed on as a consortium partner with Healthy People 2020.
The CDC report also stresses that “community water fluoridation is the most effective way to deliver the benefits of fluoride to a community. Studies show that it prevents tooth decay by 18 to 40 percent.” Despite this fact, communities across the country are removing fluoride from their water supplies, frequently as a short-sighted way to reduce costs. Read “Backlash against Fluoridated Water” in this issue of the AGDtranscript for more information.
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