The javascript used on this site for creative design effects is not supported by your browser. Please note that this will not affect access to the content on this web site.
Skip Navigation
H H S Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration

A-Z Index  |  Questions?  |  Order Publications

  • Print this
  • Email this

Oral Health

new The Role of Public-Private Partnerships in Improving Oral Health Regional Oral Health Summit Final Report 

Oral Health IT Toolbox – to help you integrate oral health and primary care, improve access to care and engage patients. 

Where We Are

About 108 million people in the U.S. have no dental insurance. Even those who are covered may have trouble getting care.

The U.S. has about 141,800 working dentists and 174,100 dental hygienists, but 4,230 Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas with 49 million people living in them.

Anyone who has ever had a toothache knows dental pain can make it impossible to work, study or just carry on the normal activities of daily life. Oral health problems seldom get better on their own and can be both a sign and a cause of disease elsewhere in the body.

The U.S. spends about $64 billion each year on oral health care -- just 4 percent is paid by Government programs. 

Oral Health Initiative

To improve the oral health of underserved people, HRSA is exploring ways to improve access to oral health care, increase awareness of the connection between oral health and overall health, promote prevention, and improve oral health literacy to health providers and patients alike. 

The Oral Health Initiative Go to exit disclaimer. includes HRSA-sponsored Institute of Medicine consensus studies examining existing oral health activities and programs, regulations, and resources and evaluating policies that could better support oral health care:

Find Oral Health Care button.

National Oral Health Conference

I must have heard several hundred people say: "If my kid is really sick, I can take him or I can take her to the emergency department — the ER. But I can't get dental care anywhere."
HRSA Deputy Administrator Marcia K. Brand, PhD addresses the 2011 National Oral Health Conference - Integration of Oral Health into Primary Care (04-12-2011)

Oral Health: Number 1 Problem  video from the conference

Oral Health Parity video from the conference

Promoting and Enhancing the Oral Health of the Public: HHS Oral Health Initiative announced at the conference

Publications

Dental SealantsDental Sealants: A Resource Guide (3rd Ed.). Learn about the prevention of dental caries through the use of dental sealants.

Find 70 free oral health publications from HRSA

Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. A silent epidemic of oral diseases is affecting our most vulnerable citizens—poor children, the elderly, and many members of racial and ethnic minority groups.