The United States National Institutes of Health recently commissioned a Surgeon General's report to document the progress that has been made in oral health since the year 2000 and identify gaps and formulate a plan to address oral health for the future. 

Public input is being sought to help guide the development of the report. This is an opportunity to ensure that the report both recognizes and seeks to address the needs of older adults who continue to suffer from high rates of untreated tooth decay and oral disease. Older adults of color, older adults living in rural regions and in institutional settings like nursing homes, and low-income older adults suffer the most acutely. This new report provides a chance to highlight these disparities and address them through policy proposals. For example, comments could focus on including an oral health benefit in Medicare, better integrating oral health into primary care settings, advancing telehealth, increasing provider participation in rural areas and institutional settings through loan repayment and grants, and more. 

In 2000, the Surgeon General issued the very first report on oral health in the United States entitled, Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. That report was groundbreaking in that it made clear that oral health is essential to overall health. In the twenty years since that first report was released, attention to oral health has increased and advancements in treatment as well as in the delivery of services have led to improved oral health outcomes. Nevertheless, much work remains. The second report will help shape national policy for the next twenty years. The comment period is an important opportunity for the voices of beneficiary advocates to be heard.