Population Health Management Tools to Support School-Based Oral Health Partnerships and Address Disparities.

Background: Dental caries (cavities) experience is prevalent in US children, and national data show rates to be increasing among young children. Disparities are found for those in the low-income and non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic/Latinx groups. Use of caries prevention, specifically dental sealants, is low, even among school-based programs.

Community water fluoridation and the integrity of equitable public health infrastructure.

Community water fluoridation is a population health program that is in a unique position to equitably prevent dental caries across all socioeconomic groups. A review of the 76-year long history of community water fluoridation shows that the challenges to expanding this program persist despite continued evidence of its efficacy. We offer dental health practitioners an opportunity to share the evidence of this oral disease prevention program with the communities they serve.