Since the Surgeon General’s 2000 report calling oral disease a “silent epidemic,” the United States has made significant progress in expanding dental coverage and access to oral health care, especially among children and low-income families. However, despite recent progress in oral health coverage and access, the oral health community still suffers from a lack of timely, consistent, and readily-available data to adequately describe the state of oral health across populations, as well as the outcomes of health interventions. This report highlights opportunities for improving policy and accountability of policymakers and advocates to continue to seek a comprehensive and well-aligned system of oral health measurement.

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