Last week, the Massachusetts Dental Society (MDS), issued a Call to Action to the residents of the Commonwealth. MDS is an oral health care organization representing 5,000 dentists, and has been working to create a comprehensive plan to improve the oral health of Massachusetts residents by 2013.
The plan includes divides its goals into three categories. The first is to ensure that oral health is a part of overall health though legislation and education. Secondly, MDS is aiming to increase access to care by working with dentists, legislators, dental schools, and other organizations. Lastly, the Call to Action promotes prevention by placing stronger regulations on smokeless tobacco, requiring mudguards to be worn by students during contact sports, decreasing access to soda and sugary snacks, and promoting community water fluoridation.
One of HCFA’s oral health champions, Rep. John Scibak (D-Hadley), a co-chairman of the legislative oral health caucus, spoke at the event. “The Massachusetts Dental Society has taken an active role in developing strategies to overcome the various barriers many in Massachusetts face when attempting to access oral health care. Through passage of the Omnibus Oral Health Care legislation earlier this year, as well as through several new pieces of legislation, the Legislature continues to do its part to protect the oral health of all who live in the Commonwealth, “he said.
Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach emphasized the link between poor oral health and other chronic diseases. “If Massachusetts seeks to remain a leader in the delivery of high quality health care to its citizens, we need to acknowledge that oral health care is an integral part of that system, “he stated. “Many diseases, from diabetes, to heart disease, to all types of cancer, first manifest their symptoms within your mouth. I have long believed that dentists play a fundamental role within the healthcare delivery system by virtue of their extensive medical training and their ability to sound that first alarm. “
Other speakers also praised this focus on improving oral health as part of overall health, including MDS President-Elect Dr. David Samuels, Dr. Lonnie Norris, Dean of the Tufts School of Dental Medicine, and James Hunt, Jr., President of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.
-Christine Keeves
