The practice and infrastructure of dental public health in the United States.
Dental public health is a unique and challenging American Dental Association-recognized specialty because the patient is the entire community or population, such as a school, neighborhood, city, state, or the nation, with a focus on vulnerable populations. Limited resources are maximized through prevention, policies, programs, and organized community efforts to respond to great unmet needs. Although dental public health professionals are few in number, millions of people every day have better oral health because of these professionals, who work on the local, state, and national level.
Allukian
Myron
M
Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, Boston, MA 02108, USA. myalluk@aol.com
Adekugbe
Olubunmi
O
D003149:Community Dentistry / Q000458:organization & administration; D019058:Community Networks; D006291:Health Policy; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D011313:Preventive Dentistry; D011636:Public Health Dentistry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D040841:Resource Allocation; D014481:United States; D035862:Vulnerable Populations