Notice to Readers: Publication of Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health
On May 25, 2000, the Surgeon General issued Oral Health in America: A Report
of the Surgeon General. The report identifies the essential role of oral health in
overall health and well-being. Although oral health has improved since 1950, disparities in
oral health status and access to care affect many persons, including those with low
income and members of racial/ethnic minority groups. Safe and effective measures
for preventing oral disease such as the use of fluoridated water or dental sealants
are underutilized. Actions called for by the report include increasing awareness of
the importance of oral health as part of general health; accelerating the building of
the science base and applying it more effectively to improve oral health; strengthening
the local, state, and federal capacity to perform core public health functions;
removing barriers between people and receipt of oral health services; and using
public-private partnerships to improve the oral health of those who still suffer
disproportionately from oral diseases.
Additional information, a copy of the report, and ordering information are
available on the World-Wide Web at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov. Additional information
is available on the Web at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/oh/, or by telephone at (887)
232-2020.
Disclaimer
All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text
into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version.
Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or
the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables.
An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800.
Contact GPO for current prices.
**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to
mmwrq@cdc.gov.
