Basic oral health needs: A professional priority?

Full Abstract

The inadequacy of access to oral health care is a complex problem facing society. Many in society who need care are unable to obtain it or do not seek it for a variety of reasons. Most commonly, these are the unfunded, who simply have inadequate resources; the "unaccepted," who may not have dental coverage or have types of coverage that are not accepted by private practitioners; the inaccessible, who may be homebound or live in sparsely populated or low-income geographic areas without dental providers; the unconvinced, who may have resources but do not believe in or recognize the need for treatment; and the unmotivated, who may realize that they need care but for them it is not a priority. While the oral health care professions cannot be expected to shoulder the entire burden to "fix" inadequate access to care, we believe that they have important responsibilities. True professions have a unique relationship with society that places them in positions of trust. With this trust comes the responsibility for public policy advocacy and to actively participate in identifying realistic ways to reduce the access problem. The leadership of organized dentistry, as well as educational institutions, and practitioners themselves must be committed to improving access and thereby the health of those currently underserved.

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Author information

Author/s: Garetto, Lawrence P (LP); Yoder, Karen M (KM);

Affiliation: Office of Dental Education, Indiana University School of Dentistry, 1121 West Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. lgaretto(-atsign-)iupui.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of dental education (J Dent Educ), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Nov; vol 70 (issue 11) : pp 1166-9

Dates: Created 2006/11/19; Completed 2007/01/04;

PMID: 17106028, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Attitude of Health Personnel
Dental Care - ethics
Ethics, Dental
Health Priorities - ethics
Health Services Accessibility - ethics
Health Services Needs and Demand - ethics
Homebound Persons
Humans
Insurance, Dental

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