Oral Health is the Measure of a Just Society

• Published in: Journal of health care for the poor and underserved 2007-02, Vol.18 (1), p.12-20
• Main Authors: Treadwell, Henrie M, Northridge, Mary E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Alcohol use; Children & youth; Community; Community Health Services - legislation & jurisprudence; Community involvement; Cultural values; Delivery of Health Care; Dental care; Dental caries; Dental Health Services - organization & administration; Economic policy; Ethnicity; Health care; Health education; Health Policy - legislation & jurisprudence; Health services; Health Services Accessibility; Health Services for the Aged; HIV; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Income inequality; NGOs; Nongovernmental organizations; Oral Health; Oral hygiene; Polls & surveys; Prevention programs; Prisoners; Sentinel Surveillance; Social Justice; Society; Teeth; United States
• ISSN: 1049-2089; 1548-6869; 1548-6869
• DOI: 10.1353/hpu.2007.0021

Former Surgeon General David Satcher's report, Oral Health in America, documents the higher burden of oral diseases and conditions borne by those with relatively low social standing at each stage of life. When an entire community suffers from a health concern, that concern becomes a social justice issue. Racial and ethnic minorities, prisoners, and seniors suffer disproportionately from oral diseases and conditions due to societal prejudices that place them at risk over and above any risk associated with their economic means. Community-based delivery models that involve the community in planning and implementation, build upon the existing health safety net to link oral health services with primary care, and change public or institutional policy to support the financing and delivery of oral health care have proven successful. Here we champion the need for a national health plan that includes oral health care to promote social justice and oral health for all.