CDC, HHS partner with ADA to present webinar on oral health care access disparities

Offering will stream Aug. 31

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Oral Health and the U.S. Public Health Service are partnering with the Medicaid Medicare CHIP Services Dental Association and the ADA to launch the Healthy People 2030 Oral Health Webinar Series.

The first webinar, on Aug. 31 from 1 -2 p.m. Eastern time, will highlight Healthy People 2030 Oral Health Objective OH-8, which seeks to increase the proportion of children, adolescents and adults who use the oral health care system.

The speakers are: Tim Ricks, D.M.D., M.P.H., chief dental officer of the U.S. Public Health Service; Jane Grover, D.D.S. M.P.H., director of the ADA Council on Advocacy for Access and Prevention; Mary Foley, M.P.H., executive director of the Medicaid Medicare CHIP Services Dental Association; andGina Thornton-Evans, D.D.S., M.P.H., Healthy People 2030 Oral Health lead and CDC dental officer.

In 1980, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the first set of Healthy People 10-year objectives. Healthy People 2030 is the fifth iteration of the Healthy People initiative.

"Healthy People 2030 sets data-driven national objectives to improve health and well-being over the next decade," said Shailee Gupta, D.D.S., M.P.H., chair of the ADA Council on Advocacy for Access and Prevention. "It's an important campaign to improve program design, policy development and access-to-care strategies to reduce disparities among vulnerable populations."

Upon completion of this webinar, participants should be able to define and describe Healthy People 2030 Oral Health Objective OH-8; describe the disparities that exist in access to oral health services based on geography, race/ethnicity and income level; and implement at least three activities in the community to specifically address the objective.