Many older Americans, particularly the less educated, the poor, and the uninsured, do not have access to oral health care. Further, minority elders have not shared in the gains in oral health status and access to care seen in other populations. Differences in oral health and access to dental care among older Americans will become more critical as the 76 million baby boomers age.

The BUSDM Elders’ Oral Health Summit, organized by Dr. Judith Jones, chair of the Department of General Dentistry, will bring together a multidisciplinary team of nationally recognized experts to discuss these disparities in access to oral health care and the gap in oral health care outcomes among elders. Conference attendees and participants will develop a research agenda to guide study in this field in coming years.

Topics will include access to care, health literacy, determinants of utilization (including racial, functional, and socioeconomic factors), consumer perspectives, financing options, and international perspectives, among others.

Experts in attendance include Dushanka Kleinman, DDS, MSD, assistant surgeon general and chief dental officer, U.S. Public Health Service, and William Maas, DDS, MPH, director, Division of Oral Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They will be joined by leaders of the insurance industry, organized dentistry, and elders’ groups.

This workshop is funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the National Institute on Aging, and the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health. Major corporate sponsorship is from GlaxoSmithKline and Dentsply International. To register or for more information, visit http://dentalschool.bu.edu/elder-summit/ or contact Carolyn Wehler, RDH, MPH, 781/687-2856, cwehler@bu.edu.

SOURCE: Boston University School of Dental Medicine

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