title: The future of the dental profession: perspectives from Oral Health in America: a report of the Surgeon General.
abstract: "The intent of this first-ever Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health is to alert Americans to the full meaning of oral health and its importance to general health and well-being" (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2000). Thus began the introductory message from the Secretary for Health and Human Services to Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General, released in May 2000. The centerpiece of the charge was to "define, describe, and evaluate the interaction between oral health and general health and well-being through the life span in the context of changes in society" (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2000). To address this charge, the report was science-based, prevention and health promotion-oriented, and focused on all life stages. Although the report stressed oral health, not the dental profession, the report's messages and themes are relevant to current and future dental practice, education, research, and to dentistry's role in the healthcare system.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, NIH, U. S. Public Health Service, 31 Center Dr., MSC 2290, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Dushanka.Kleinman@nih.gov
authors.forename: Dushanka V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Kleinman
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D003813:Dentistry / Q000639:trends*; D005544:Forecasting; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006293:Health Promotion; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D009909:Oral Health; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011313:Preventive Dentistry / Q000639:trends; D011322:Primary Prevention; D012307:Risk Factors; D012586:Science / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States