Message from the Chair
Oct. 1, 2003
By Jane E. M. Steffensen The Oral Health Section is looking forward to an exciting program during the APHA Annual Meeting, Nov. 15-19, 2003, in San Francisco. I hope you are planning to attend the Annual Meeting on the west coast as it provides a myriad of opportunities to sharpen our public health skills, replenish our passion for public health, and foster friendships with colleagues. Look online at the extensive program of scientific sessions and CE opportunities at the Continuing Education Institutes. Be sure to attend the General Sessions as these sessions always engage and energize the attendees by focusing on public health opportunities and challenges.
A daily schedule of the Oral Health Section Program is summarized later in this Newsletter. Thank you to Sandie Beebe, 2003 Annual Meeting Program Chair, Scott Presson, and Oscar Arevalo for their work in planning the program as well as the presenters and those who volunteered as abstract reviewers and session moderators.
The Oral Health Section planning committee has organized a full program of oral health sessions:
• Access to Oral Care
• Aging & Oral Health
• Reducing Disparities in Early Childhood Caries
• School & Community-Based Models for Access and Prevention
• Current Issues in Water Fluoridation
• Oral Epidemiology, Surveillance & Health Services Research
• Integration of Oral Health with General Health
• Outreach Programs for Allied Health Care in the Community (Joint-Sponsored - Vision Care & Oral Health Sections)
• Ambulatory Care Topics (Joint-sponsored by Oral Health, Vision Care & Chiropractic Health Care Sections)
• Oral Health Poster Session I & II
• Topics in Maternal and Child Health Poster Session (Joint-sponsored by Oral Health & Maternal and Child Health Sections)
• Infant Child Health Poster Session (Joint-Sponsored by Oral Health Section & Maternal and Child Health Sections)
The Oral Health Section also looks forward to the John W. Knutson Award Ceremony on Monday, Nov. 17, 2003, at 6:30 p.m. followed by the Annual Section Dinner at Chevy’s Restaurant. This year the Knutson Award will be presented to Dushanka V. Kleinman, DDS, MScD, Chief Dental Officer of the USPHS, and Deputy Director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, NIH (See Article and Dinner Announcement in this Newsletter.) A thank you to John Brown, Chair Knutson Award Committee and committee members Stuart Lockwood, Scott Presson, and Diane Brunson.
In addition, thank you to Howard Pollick and his Local Arrangements Committee for organizing the dinner and dance contest in San Francisco.
Also, during the meeting all Section Members are welcome to attend the Oral Health Section Council Meeting on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2003, 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (the Opening General Session will be that day 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.). All Section Members are also invited to the Oral Health Section Annual Business Meeting, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2003, 8:00-10:00 p.m. The Oral Health Section Governing Councilors Sue Sanzi-Schaedel and Larry Hill will be representing the Section at the APHA Governing Council Sessions. This year's discussions will include future directions as the APHA Strategic Plan is developed. All members are welcome to observe and hear more about the Association’s activities during the Governing Council Sessions.
On Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2003, the social activities include the Oral Health Reception sponsored by the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., and the Annual Myron Allukian Flying Feet Dance Contest at the top of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, after the Section Annual Business Meeting.
The Oral Health Section will again this year have a joint exhibit booth at the Public Health Expo.
The Section needs volunteers for a two-hour shift at the booth. Please contact Clemencia Vargas, Exhibit Booth Chair, at <cmv001@dental.umaryland.edu> to volunteer at the booth and support the Oral Health Section. Also, special thanks to Clemencia Vargas for coordinating the oral health section activities at the booth.
I would like to draw your attention to new resources and opportunities to move oral health actions forward. We hope that the information and resources included in this Newsletter assist you in your daily work of improving oral health for children and adults.
Since the last Newsletter the Department of Health and Human Services released the
National Call To Action to Promote Oral Health aimed at improving oral health and preventing disease for all Americans. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, released the report on April 29, 2003, at the 2003 National Oral Health Conference in Milwaukee. The National Call to Action marks the latest in an ongoing effort to address the country’s oral health needs in the new century. The National Call to Action <
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/oralhealth/> builds on "Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General" (May 2000) and the "Healthy People 2010 Oral Health Objectives." The National Call to Action seeks to expand past efforts by enlisting the expertise of individuals, health care providers, communities, and policymakers at all levels of society. The National Call to Action identifies five action areas:
• Change perceptions of oral health;
• Overcome barriers to care by replicating effective programs and proven efforts;
• Build the science base and accelerate science transfer;
• Increase oral health workforce diversity, capacity and flexibility; and
• Increase collaboration.
Please see the interview with Dr. Caswell Evans in this issue of the Newsletter to learn more about the National Call To Action. The Oral Health Section will examine future opportunities to collaborate with partners and move forward on actions outlined by the National Call To Action oral health agenda.
The Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) Internet-Based Resources - •
Best Practices Project
<www.astdd.org/bestpractices/index.htm>
• Dental Public Health Activities - A Collection of Descriptive Summaries
<www.astdd.org/statepractices/StateActivitiesMain.htm> These sites provide reviews of several contemporary dental public health activities that can be replicated in states and communities. The Project aims to cultivate best practices that help: (a) build infrastructure and capacity in state, territorial and community oral health programs; (b) meet the Call To Action set by the Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health and National Call To Action to Promote Oral Health; and (c) achieve Healthy People 2010 Objectives to enhance the oral health of all Americans and reduce health disparities.
Safety Net Dental Clinic Manual <
www.dentalclinicmanual.com/> is a new practical online reference document that reviews: Partnerships and Planning; Facility Design; Staffing; Finances; Clinic Operations; and Quality Improvements. It is in easy-to-use format with links to user-friendly tools including clinic policies, efficiency tips, professional standards, supply lists, floor plans, design tips, photos of equipment options, budget worksheets, funding strategies, quality improvement plans, fact sheets and Web sites. (See Article in this Newsletter.)
New initiatives and activities have been funded in 2003-2004 by the
State Oral Health Collaborative Systems Grants (SOHCS), Maternal and Child Health Bureau, HRSA. Recently awarded, 47 grantees, will be working to strengthen collaborative efforts among public/private partnerships to improve oral health, for additional information visit, <
http://newsroom.hrsa.gov/releases/2003/MCHoral.htm>.
There are also ongoing activities associated with
Head Start and Oral Health Forums at the regional, state, and territorial levels as well as with professional organizations. (See Article in this Newsletter.)
Interface Between Medicine and Dentistry in Meeting the Oral Health Needs of Young Children discusses the coordination of primary health care and primary dental care systems, and materials are available <
www.cdhp.org>. The Interfaces Project is a collaboration between the Children's Dental Health Project (CDHP), the Ame