Dental Public Health
- LAST REVIEWED: 11 August 2022
- LAST MODIFIED: 27 November 2013
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756797-0059
- LAST REVIEWED: 11 August 2022
- LAST MODIFIED: 27 November 2013
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756797-0059
Introduction
Within the broader landscape of dentistry, the specialty of dental public health (DPH) has generally been defined as the science and art of diagnosing and controlling oral disease and promoting oral health through community efforts. Placing an emphasis on population health, DPH differs from clinical practice in that the latter tends to focus solely on the individual. As such, the practice of DPH is underpinned by various disciplines (e.g., epidemiology, health promotion, health economics, evidence-based practice, etc.), requiring those working in this field to have an understanding of these areas. In North America, one outcome of the rise of dentistry from the late 19th century onward was the certification of DPH specialists in the United States in 1950 and Canada in 1945. Coupled with the rise and demands of the developing welfare state, DPH specialists have become involved with all levels of government, specifically in efforts to organize and plan oral health-care delivery for the population. The following bibliography provides various resources (e.g., government documents, textbooks, journals, etc.) that provide insight into the practice of DPH. It attempts to include the most current resources but also includes resources that are considered classic to the field. While focusing on Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, other regions such as Europe and Scandinavia are also discussed where applicable.
Books
The number of books on DPH is growing and those listed here represent key contributions to the field. Daly, et al. 2002 and Burt and Eklund 2005 provide students and professionals with a broad understanding of the field from British and American viewpoints, respectively. Pine and Harris 2007 provides a detailed overview of the practice of DPH. Complementary to these is Mason 2010, aimed at auxiliary dental professionals but equally useful. Finally, Cohen and Gift 1995 presents an in-depth discussion into the underlying social and behavioral concepts integral to disease prevention and health promotion from leading researchers in the field.
Burt, Brian A., and Stephen A. Eklund. 2005. Dentistry, dental practice, and the community. 6th ed. Saint Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders.
This text highlights the development and practice of DPH unique to America and forms one of the core texts for North American specialty exams. The chapters on the financing, organization, and delivery of dental care in the North American context are very useful.
Cohen, Lois K., and Helen C. Gift, eds. 1995. Disease prevention and oral health promotion: Socio-dental sciences in action. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
This in-depth work discusses the socio-dental sciences and their importance in oral disease prevention and oral health promotion. Each contributor provides a critical account of a topic (e.g., behavioral aspects of oral diseases; social, psychological, and economic impacts of oral conditions and treatments), its application, and areas for future research.
Daly, Blanaid, Richard Watt, Paul Batchelor, and Elizabeth T. Treasure. 2002. Essential dental public health. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
Covering similar material to Burt and Eklund 2005 on the history of DPH in Britain and how dentistry is included in national health care systems within the European Union are particularly useful. In combination with Burt and Eklund 2005, it provides a well-balanced and international understanding of DPH.
Mason, Jill. 2010. Concepts in dental public health. 2d ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
The modular progression through the material and clear learning objectives provide readers with a general understanding of DPH. Successful dental professionals are interviewed and highlight various career pathways available to auxiliary dental professionals within DPH.
Pine, Cynthia, and Rebecca Harris, eds. 2007. Community oral health. 2d ed. London: Quintessence.
This text presents detailed knowledge about the practice of DPH. The chapters on oral health systems are an excellent review of historical changes and the current international context of DPH.
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- Access to Health Care
- Action Research
- Active Aging
- Active Living
- Addiction
- Adolescent Health, Socioeconomic Inequalities in
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- Advocacy, Public Health
- Agricultural Safety and Public Health
- Air Quality: Health Effects
- Air Quality: Indoor Health Effects
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- Ambient Air Quality Standards and Guidelines
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- Complexity and Systems Theory
- Critical Health Literacy
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- Culture and Public Health
- Definition of Health
- Dental Public Health
- Design and Health
- Dietary Guidelines
- Directions in Global Public Health Graduate Education
- Driving and Public Health
- Ecological Approaches
- Enabling Factors
- Environmental Health, Pediatric
- Environmental Laws
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- Ethics of Public Health
- Evidence-Based Pediatric Dentistry
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- Family Planning Services and Birth Control
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- Global Health
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- Guide to Community Preventive Services, The
- Health Administration
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- Health Disparities
- Health Education
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- Health in All Policies
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- Health Literacy
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- Health Measurement Scales
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- Health Systems of Low and Middle-Income Countries, The
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- Indoor Air Quality Guidelines
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- Law of Public Health in the United States
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- Mental Health
- Mental Health Promotion
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- Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention
- Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
- Nanotechnology
- National Association of Local Boards of Health
- National Public Health Institutions
- Needs Assessment
- Needs Assessments in International Disasters and Emergenci...
- Obesity Prevention
- Occupational Cancers
- Occupational Exposure to Benzene
- Occupational Exposure to Erionite
- Occupational Safety and Health
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- Oral Health Equity for Minority Populations in the United ...
- Ottawa Charter
- Parenting and Work
- Parenting Skills and Capacity
- Participatory Action Research
- Patient Decision Making
- Pesticide Exposure and Pesticide Health Effects
- Pesticides
- Physical Activity and Exercise
- Physical Activity Promotion
- Pneumoconiosis
- Polio Eradication in Pakistan
- Population Aging
- Population Determinants of Unhealthy Foods and Beverages
- Population Health Objectives and Targets
- Precautionary Principle
- Prenatal Health
- Preparedness
- Program Evaluation in American Health Education
- Program Planning and Evaluation
- Public Health, History of
- Public Health Surveillance
- Public-Private Partnerships in Public Health Research and ...
- Public-Private Partnerships to Prevent and Manage Obesity ...
- Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment
- Racism as a Structural Determinant of Health
- Radiological and Nuclear Emergencies
- Randomized Controlled Trials
- Real World Evaluation Strategies
- Reducing Obesity-Related Health Disparities in Hispanic an...
- Research Integrity in Public Health
- Resilient Health Systems
- Rural Health in the United States
- Safety, Patient
- School Health Programs in the Pacific Region
- Sex Education in HIV/AIDS Prevention
- Silicosis
- Skin Cancer Prevention
- Smoking Cessation
- Social Determinants of Health
- Social Epidemiology
- Social Marketing
- Statistics in Public Health
- STI Networks, Patterns, and Control Strategies
- Stillbirths
- Suicide
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Systems in the United States, Public Health
- Systems Modeling and Big Data for Non-Communicable Disease...
- Systems Theory in Public Health
- Traditional, Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative M...
- Translation of Science to Practice and Policy
- Traumatic Stress and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Tuberculosis among Adults and the Determinants of Health
- UK Public Health Systems
- Unintentional Injury Prevention
- Urban Health
- Vaccination, Mandatory
- Vaccine Hesitancy
- Vermiculite
- Violence Prevention
- War
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- Weight Management in US Occupational Settings
- Welfare States, Public Health and Health Inequalities
- Workforce
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- World Health Organization (WHO)