Chapter 4 Social Responsibility and Justice. Objectives Describe the role of the dental hygienist in meeting the oral health care needs of the public.

DH 226Dental Law and Ethics

Chapter 4Social Responsibility and Justice

ObjectivesDescribe the role of the dental hygienist

in meeting the oral health care needs of the public

Relate the importance of the Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health to the profession of dental hygiene.

Describe the issue of access to care and social responsibility

Identify several strategies that a dental hygienist can implement in striving for social justice

Disparities in Oral Health CareSurgeon General’s Report on Oral Health

First report was published in 2000.

“Mouth is a mirror” of the body

Addressed disparities and inequalities that affect the most vulnerable populations: poor, children, elderly, disabled and racial and ethnic minorities

Pg 57

Disparities in Oral Health CareReport includes conditions and diseases such

as oral cancers, lesions of the head and neck, birth defects, and facial pain.

Report established that oral health is integral to general health and that the two should not be looked at separately.

Oral health is a critical component of overall health.

Disparities in Oral Health Care

Disparities in Oral Health Care

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research published A Plan to Eliminate Craniofacial, Oral and Health Disparities in 2002.Report listed many factors besides finances that must

be identified when determining why certain populations become patients and others do not.

Social, political, economic, and cultural factors clearly underlie the complex social problem of inequality.

In 2006, 2 children died due to dental abscesses, making headlines and triggering legislative actions to prevent this from happening again.

Health Disparities & Professionalism47 million in the US are uninsured or have no health

insurance; even more have no dental insurance

Historic definition of a profession—finding solutions to oral health disparities.

Dental hygienists are focused on prevention, a focus that fits well with the goals of health promotion established by the US dept. of Public Health.

What it means to be a professional—pg 58

Standards of professional responsibility, community, and society.

Increased access to carePromoting public healthSupporting justiceRecognizing an obligation to provide pro

bono service

Ethical Goals in Oral Health CareValues of importance to achieving ethical

goals in healthcare (goals that focus on society)CaringStewardshipJustice

Different from ethical principles that focus on the individual like autonomy and self-determination.

Justice in dental care is a complex topic……..

Ethical Goals in Oral Health CareWhat is fair or just?

What does the just distribution of dental health care resources look like?

What kind of care are individuals entitled to when resources are limited?

What really is considered basic or adequate dental care?

Ethical Goals in Oral Health CareEven the definition of access can be misleading-

Access: freedom or ability to obtainAccessibility: the ease with which health care can be

reached in the face of barriers such as finance or culture

According to Garetto and Yoder, we also have the responsibility to those who are unaware of need, do not seek it, cannot get to it, or are afraid of it.

Ethically the goal of improving the health of the population is a societal greater good benefitting society at large

Social JusticeSocial responsibility as part of professionalismADEA: American Dental Education AssociationADEA defined its role and responsibility with its

member institutions in improving the oral health status of all Americans in a report in 2003.Findings stressed the importance of increasing the

diversity of the oral health workforceTeaching and exhibiting values that prepare future

dental professionals to commit to oral health care to all populations, including the underserved.

Social JusticeADEA Recommendations for Improving

Oral Health of Americans………..How to do this?

Monitor future workforce needsImprove effectiveness of health care delivery

systemPrepare students to provide services to

diverse pop.Increase the diversity of the workforceImprove effectiveness of allied dental

professionals in reaching the underserved (pg. 60)

Role of the DH in addressing social disparities

Suggested activities pg. 61

Safety net clinicLocal water fluoridationSchool based sealant and fluoride programsMobile dental vansDental and general health fairs

Dental Community Clinics

The dental hygienist, along with other health care providers, must recognize the collective and individual responsibilities held as health professionals to address the oral health needs of the entire public.

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt