title: Public opinion.
abstract: This opinion-based article aims to highlight the worrying decline in support for dental public health as a specialty. Not only is this specialty important for its role in commissioning services, it is crucial for the identification of vulnerable groups in society and ensuring dental services are acceptable and assessable for these populations. Dental public health also addresses the social determinants of health in its approach, acknowledging the impact of these in perpetuating inequalities and looking for multisectoral approaches to their management. This article also looks at the lack of appreciation for these determinants in dental foundation training and how a change in the structure of the programme could both address this and the current shortage of places.
authors.affiliation: Croft House Dental Practice, Croft House, High Street, Maltby, Rotherham, S66 8LH, UK. aclholden@gmail.com
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Holden
mesh_terms: D003149:Community Dentistry / Q000193:education; D003729:Dental Care; D004497:Education, Dental; D015438:Health Behavior; D006285:Health Planning; D006293:Health Promotion; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D009909:Oral Health; D011203:Poverty; D011634:Public Health; D011636:Public Health Dentistry / Q000193:education; D011639:Public Opinion; D064890:Social Determinants of Health; D012931:Social Environment; D014478:Unemployment; D006113:United Kingdom; D035862:Vulnerable Populations