Rural North Carolina has a significant access-to-oral-health-care problem with three counties—Camden, Hyde, and Tyrrell—without a practicing dentist for more than 10 years, and more than 50 counties with noted dentist shortages.
Oral health professionals can help ensure a lifetime of oral health by educating children and families about the importance of diet during the developmental years.
A new study indicates dental therapists practicing in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta region of Alaska are achieving intended outcomes, expanding access to care, helping to prevent oral disease, and improving quality of life.