Eliminating oral health disparities: Ethics workshop reactor comments.
Oral health encompasses dentistry and is broader in concept. Dentistry alone appears insufficient to ensure oral health for the population at large. Troubling disparities in oral health status and access to care have been documented. The segment of the population that has little or no access to care is growing; aging baby-boomers are adding to this problem. As suggested in Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General, partnerships and collaboration are essential to improving oral health. The ethics of dental practice and the profession are being called into question. Who will provide the necessary leadership to address and resolve these issues, so that oral health is attainable by all?
Evans
Caswell A
CA
Prevention and Public Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Dentistry, 801 S. Paulina, MC 621, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. casevans@uic.edu
D000368:Aged; D003729:Dental Care / Q000941:ethics*; D016321:Dental Care for Aged / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D003815:Dentists / Q000941:ethics; D004990:Ethics, Dental; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D006278:Medicare; D011203:Poverty; D024382:Professional Role; D012953:Societies, Dental / Q000941:ethics; D014481:United States; D035862:Vulnerable Populations