The New Hampshire Dental Society is concerned about the oral health of the citizens of New Hampshire. The Society’s leadership has spent the past year reviewing and studying issues relating to the current status of the state’s oral health and has developed a plan which outlines the achievements and progress that have been made over the past 10 years, highlights the challenges and offers suggested solutions for the future. The Society has been guided by its Core Principles in developing this plan:
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The dental profession is committed to maintaining one standard of care, ensuring the integrity of the patient/doctor relationship and upholding the highest level of ethical and moral standards.
- Prevention is the cornerstone of oral health.
- Oral health care is properly delivered by a well-trained dental team led by the dentist.
- Oral health is an integral component to overall health.
- Oral health care must be based on scientific principles and sound clinical judgment.
- Everyone should have a dental home.
From these Core Principles, the Society has outlined goals and strategies which will provide a framework for its members and other stakeholders to move forward in working together to improve New Hampshire’s oral health.
The goals are as follows:
Goal One: To educate and demonstrate the importance of prevention
Goal Two: To educate all about the link between oral health and overall health
Goal Three: To initiate new and to support current public/private partnerships to improve access and utilization of oral health care
Goal Four: To remove barriers to oral health care
Goal Five: To enhance the oral health workforce
Throughout this report, the Society sets forth varying strategies to achieve these broad goals. These strategies are specific and achievable with collaboration and input from key stakeholders in oral health. For example, in achieving the first goal of prevention, the Society strongly believes that by promoting preventive techniques – such as water fluoridation, early-age oral screenings, and the use of mouth guards in sports participation – a broader segment of New Hampshire’s population may be able to prevent oral health problems before they occur.
Ultimately, the Society believes the goals and strategies which are written in this report are achievable and, if implemented, will improve the oral health of all of New Hampshire’s citizens. While the Society and its members are leaders in oral health care, we recognize that improvements in the public’s oral health cannot be achieved by our efforts alone. It is our hope that this report and its suggested guidelines will engage other individuals and organizations to support our efforts, and help achieve the expected outcome of better oral health in the future.
That is something to smile about! :)
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