title: Federal role in dental public health: dental care for special populations.
abstract: California is home to more than 70 dental clinics operated or funded by the U.S. government. They operate on annual appropriations from Congress to serve a specific population and regulations that specify the type of dental services provided are usually promulgated at the national level. Dental clinics have the challenge of creating a program that delivers high-quality care within these financial and programmatic constraints. In California, U.S. government appropriations are the main source of funding dental clinics of immigration services, the Veterans Administration, the Bureau of Prisons, the Coast Guard, and American Indian clinics. The evolution and current practices of these five dental public health programs are described.
authors.affiliation: Division of Public Health and Community Dentistry, University of California Los Angeles School of Dentistry, 90095-1668, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Reifel
mesh_terms: D002140:California; D003740:Dental Clinics / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005380:Financing, Government; D006801:Humans; D008889:Military Personnel; D011636:Public Health Dentistry / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D037041:United States Government Agencies; D016549:United States Indian Health Service; D014728:Veterans