This past week, CPEHN was one of a number of organizations represented at the Oral Health 2020 National Network Gathering in New Orleans. We’re excited to be a part of this project and we think it could have a lasting impact on the oral health landscape in California. Our focus has always been on improving health in communities of color, and through this project, we can highlight an especially important health topic for diverse populations across our state. We are proud partners in this network that is working to achieve these bold goals by 2020 and we made even more great strides last week at the convening.
These goals were originally established to expand the impact of and unify the national network of change agents working to improve oral health across the country while allowing us to launch a system-change strategy that has inspired collective action across the country. Due to the network’s exciting success, the DentaQuest Foundation and its partners unveiled the recently-updated Oral Health 2020 goals:
Goal 1: Eradicate dental disease in children.
- Target: With the closing of disparity gaps, 85% of children reach age 5 without a cavity.
Goal 2: Incorporate oral health into the primary education system.
- Target: The 10 largest school districts have incorporated oral health into their systems.
Goal 3: Include an adult dental benefit in publicly-funded health coverage.
- Target: At least 30 states have an extensive Medicaid adult dental benefit.
- Target: Medicare includes an extensive dental benefit.
Goal 4: Build a comprehensive national oral health measurement system.
- Target: A national and state-based oral health measurement system is in place.
Goal 5: Integrate oral health into person-centered health care.
- Target: Oral health is integrated into at least 50 percent of emerging person-centered care models.
Goal 6: Improve the public perception of the value of oral health to overall health.
- Target: Oral health is increasingly included in health dialogue and public policy
We are eager to continue working on this project so that we can address the inequities faced by communities of color in oral health. We want to look at the root causes of these inequities, including social and environmental barriers such as income, discrimination, transportation, access to healthy foods, and access to clean, fluoridated drinking water. Through the work with our community partners, we know that oral health is a huge issue for communities of color and low-income communities, with many people lacking adequate access to services on top of facing social and environmental barriers.
As we approach 2020, we reaffirm our commitment to the important work ahead and working together to improve the oral health of all. You can learn more about Oral Health 2020 and the gathering in New Orleans by searching the hashtag #OH2020inNOLA on Twitter.