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US National Oral Health Alliance Promotes 'Healthy Individuals and Communities'

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Posted: May 2, 2014
At the National Oral Health Conference on April 28, 2014, Michael Monopoli, DMD, of the DentaQuest Foundation and Steven Geiermann, DMD, of the American Dental Association presented a poster of the U.S. National Oral Health Alliance’s (Alliance) growing national network and the newly released “Emerging Framework for Action” which was developed following the conclusion of the Seventh Alliance Leadership Colloquium held in April in St. Louis. Both Dr. Monopoli and Dr. Geiermann serve as advisors to the Alliance.

“The Oral Health Alliance is ultimately about a platform for common ground that is focused on healthy individuals and communities across this country,” said Monopoli, Director of Policy and Programs for the DentaQuest Foundation. “All who are engaged in the Alliance care about the oral health of vulnerable populations wherever they live.“

Colloquium participants have gathered over the past two years to explore and analyze key priority areas, build common ground, and share opportunities to create viable solutions for improving the oral health of vulnerable populations across the United States.

“This ‘Emerging Framework for Action’ represents the wisdom and input of more than 500 people across multiple disciplines that have made a personal commitment to participate in seven leadership colloquia,” said Ralph Fuccillo, President of the DentaQuest Foundation and a founding board member of the Alliance. “Recognizing that many people still do not have access to oral health benefits today, Alliance partners continue to address this question: ‘What are we going to do in the short and in the long term both individually and collectively, to assure optimal oral health through prevention and treatment for underserved people?’  With a Framework that was built through trust and shared knowledge, nothing should keep us from moving from that question to productive action.”

The Alliance shared this framework at the National Oral Health Conference as a catalyst to encourage the alignment of efforts by all who are working to improve oral health across the country. The more oral health advocates are able to use common language to network and support common goals, the more effective they will be in investing resources in ways that are complementary in order to have the greatest impact.

The U.S. Surgeon General first called national attention to dental disease in 2000 as a “silent epidemic” impacting our most vulnerable populations. More than a decade later, little has changed. Dental disease, though preventable, is the most common chronic illness in children, more common than asthma. Every year, children lose approximately 52 million school hours and adults lose 164 million work hours due to dental disease.

Since it was established in 2011, the Alliance has brought together leaders from across various sectors to exchange knowledge and experiences and to establish common ground and shared intentions on priority areas essential to good oral health.
 
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