Former Surgeon General David Satcher Says Oral Health Epidemic Persists (646 hits)
Calls For Pursuing Options to Expand Access - Including Midlevel Providers, Dental Therapists
Atlanta, GA (July 19, 2012) -- Twelve years after issuing a landmark report that offered a framework for improving access to oral health, former Surgeon General David Satcher said that profound oral health problems still exist for large portions of the population and issued a renewed call for action to expand access to oral health care, particularly in light of the millions of children expected to gain dental benefits through the Affordable Care Act in 2014.
Speaking at a conference on unmet oral health needs, sponsored by the Morehouse School of Medicine and the Sullivan Alliance to Transform America's Health Professions, Dr. Satcher addressed progress that has been made since his landmark report on the silent epidemic of tooth decay, but also detailed profound oral health problems that remain more than a decade later.
