From the expansion of access to fluoridated water to a changing workforce’s impact on access to care, policy plays an important role in meeting the oral health needs of our country. As oral health professionals working in public health settings and providing care to under-served populations, NNOHA’s members provided a unique and necessary perspective essential to policy development.

NNOHA is working to represent the voice of our membership at the national level and engage our members in advocacy at the local level. The primary focuses of this partnership are the issues of community water fluoridation, workforce needs for the future, and the accessibility of dental sealants in school based programs.

Community water fluoridation, the adjustment of a naturally occurring mineral to a level demonstrated to have the greatest benefit, was named as one of the top ten health achievements of the 20th Century. Water fluoridation is the only oral health intervention that benefits everyone regardless of age or income level. NNOHA fully supports the continued expansion of access to optimally fluoridated water.
 

NNOHA affirms that oral health is essential to overall health and that everyone deserves access to high-quality dental care. Community Health Centers (CHCs) provide oral health services to more than 6.7 million individuals each year—predominantly low-income, rural, and underserved populations. Without sustainable funding, these safety-net programs risk reductions in access, widening disparities, and increasing long-term health care costs.

Health Centers provide oral health services for underserved populations at dental clinics throughout the United States. Between 1998 and 2008, the number of Health Centers offering on-site dental services increased from 411 to 850, and the number of dental patients went up by 158%. As dental capacity grows, the need for a dental workforce committed to caring for underserved patients is growing as well.

Given the growing demand, new types of dental providers such as dental health therapists and advanced dental hygiene practitioners – sometimes called mid-level providers – have been proposed as a way to strengthen the dental safety net and to address unmet needs for dental services. If successful, such programs can not only facilitate a division of labor that allows dentists to manage and treat more acute and complex issues, but also contribute to primary prevention of severe and expensive problems.