Oral Health America

Oral Health America (abbreviated OHA) is a national 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization established in 1955 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. OHA connects communities with resources to increase access to care, education, and advocacy for all Americans, especially those most vulnerable.

Programs

Smiles Across America

Founded by Oral Health America in 2004, Smiles Across America is a nationwide campaign to coordinate schools, governments, care providers, and corporate and community sponsors to fight against tooth decay. The program incorporates disease prevention and health promotion services and community organizing to create successful models for school-based or school-linked care.

Smiles Across America has provided more than $1.5 million in grant support to 15 programs operating in 47 communities in Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois, Nevada, Minnesota, Maryland, Florida, Colorado, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Through Smiles Across America, Oral Health America is a partner of America’s Promise, an organization founded by Colin and Alma Powell to improve the lives of children. Oral Health America committed and succeeded in sealing 1 million teeth by 2010. Smiles Across America recently renewed its commitment to seal an additional 2 million teeth by 2020.

Dentistry

Dentistry is a branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, commonly in the dentition but also the oral mucosa, and of adjacent and related structures and tissues, particularly in the maxillofacial (jaw and facial) area. Although primarily associated with teeth among the general public, the field of dentistry or dental medicine is thus not limited to odontology (from Ancient Greek ὀδούς (odoús, "tooth")) – the study of the structure, development, and abnormalities of the teeth. Because of their substantial overlap in concept, dentistry is often also understood to subsume the now largely defunct medical specialty of stomatology (the study of the mouth and its disorders and diseases) for which reason the two terms are used interchangeably in certain regions.

Dentistry is widely considered important for overall health. Dental treatment is carried out by the dental team, which often consists of a dentist and dental auxiliaries (dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental technicians, and dental therapists). Most dentists work in private practices (primary care), although some work in hospitals (secondary care) and institutions (prisons, armed forces bases, etc.).

Outline of dentistry and oral health

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to dentistry and oral health:

Dentistry – branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body.

Branches of dentistry

History of dentistry

General dentistry concepts