National Academy of Sciences to study improving dental care

The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) contracts worth $2.4 million to conduct a wide-ranging study of oral health care in the U.S. and suggest ways it could be improved, HRSA announced last week.

"Access to oral health services is a problem across America and for all segments of the population," said HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., in a news release. "This study will help guide federal investments in service delivery models that expand access to oral healthcare and improve its quality."

Working with the NAS, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Board on Children, Youth, and Families and the Board on Health Care Services will establish two 15-member committees of experts in oral health and other health-related services to do the following:

• Examine the oral health system of care in the U.S. as it currently exists.
• Explore its strengths, weaknesses, and future challenges.
• Describe a desired vision for the oral healthcare system.
• Recommend strategies to achieve that vision.

Additionally, the IOM will:

• Explore ways to increase public awareness of the relationship of good oral health to good overall health.
• Look at ways to improve the delivery of oral healthcare to underserved groups and to the safety-net providers who serve them.
• Assess the oral health literacy of providers and the public and recommend messages to promote the prevention of oral health disease to all ages.

The IOM's final report will review elements of a national oral health initiative, propose ways the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) can implement such an initiative, and recommend a strategy to improve the public's awareness of existing HHS oral health activities and the services available.