The optimal state of the mouth and normal functioning of the organs of the mouth without evidence of disease.

The level of health of the individual, group, or population as subjectively assessed by the individual or by more objective measures.

The practice of personal hygiene of the mouth. It includes the maintenance of oral cleanliness, tissue tone, and general preservation of oral health.

The total of dental diagnostic, preventive, and restorative services provided to meet the needs of a patient (from Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry, 1982).

Education which increases the awareness and favorably influences the attitudes and knowledge relating to the improvement of dental health on a personal or community basis.

Services designed to promote, maintain, or restore dental health.

Localized destruction of the tooth surface initiated by decalcification of the enamel followed by enzymatic lysis of organic structures and leading to cavity formation. If left unchecked, the cavity may penetrate the enamel and dentin and reach the pulp.

Branch of medicine concerned with the prevention and control of disease and disability, and the promotion of physical and mental health of the population on the international, national, state, or municipal level.

A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to dental or oral health and disease in a human population within a given geographic area.

The concept concerned with all aspects of providing and distributing health services to a patient population.

"Decayed, missing and filled teeth," a routinely used statistical concept in dentistry.

The giving of attention to the special dental needs of children, including the prevention of tooth diseases and instruction in dental hygiene and dental health. The dental care may include the services provided by dental specialists.

The giving of attention to the special dental needs of the elderly for proper maintenance or treatment. The dental care may include the services provided by dental specialists.

Encouraging consumer behaviors most likely to optimize health potentials (physical and psychosocial) through health information, preventive programs, and access to medical care.

Decisions, usually developed by government policymakers, for determining present and future objectives pertaining to the health care system.

The act of cleaning teeth with a brush to remove plaque and prevent tooth decay. (From Webster, 3d ed)

The degree to which individuals are inhibited or facilitated in their ability to gain entry to and to receive care and services from the health care system. Factors influencing this ability include geographic, architectural, transportational, and financial considerations, among others.

A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to health and disease in a human population within a given geographic area.

Public attitudes toward health, disease, and the medical care system.

Total lack of teeth through disease or extraction.

Innovation and improvement of the health care system by reappraisal, amendment of services, and removal of faults and abuses in providing and distributing health services to patients. It includes a re-alignment of health services and health insurance to maximum demographic elements (the unemployed, indigent, uninsured, elderly, inner cities, rural areas) with reference to coverage, hospitalization, pricing and cost containment, insurers' and employers' costs, pre-existing medical conditions, prescribed drugs, equipment, and services.

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

Pathological processes involving the PERIODONTIUM including the gum (GINGIVA), the alveolar bone (ALVEOLAR PROCESS), the DENTAL CEMENTUM, and the PERIODONTAL LIGAMENT.

A dental specialty concerned with the prevention of disease and the maintenance of oral health through promoting organized dental health programs at a community, state, or federal level.

Behaviors expressed by individuals to protect, maintain or promote their health status. For example, proper diet, and appropriate exercise are activities perceived to influence health status. Life style is closely associated with health behavior and factors influencing life style are socioeconomic, educational, and cultural.

The branch of dentistry concerned with the prevention of disease and the maintenance and promotion of oral health.

The state of the organism when it functions optimally without evidence of disease.

Planning for needed health and/or welfare services and facilities.

The failure to retain teeth as a result of disease or injury.

Knowledge, attitudes, and associated behaviors which pertain to health-related topics such as PATHOLOGIC PROCESSES or diseases, their prevention, and treatment. This term refers to non-health workers and health workers (HEALTH PERSONNEL).

Statistical measures of utilization and other aspects of the provision of health care services including hospitalization and ambulatory care.

Health services required by a population or community as well as the health services that the population or community is able and willing to pay for.

Care which provides integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community. (JAMA 1995;273(3):192)

An appliance used as an artificial or prosthetic replacement for missing teeth and adjacent tissues. It does not include CROWNS; DENTAL ABUTMENTS; nor TOOTH, ARTIFICIAL.

Degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.

The concept pertaining to the health status of inhabitants of the world.

Insurance providing coverage for dental care.

Pain in the adjacent areas of the teeth.

The levels of excellence which characterize the health service or health care provided based on accepted standards of quality.

Insurance providing coverage of medical, surgical, or hospital care in general or for which there is no specific heading.

The practice of dentistry concerned with the dental problems of children, proper maintenance, and treatment. The dental care may include the services provided by dental specialists.

Men and women working in the provision of health services, whether as individual practitioners or employees of health institutions and programs, whether or not professionally trained, and whether or not subject to public regulation. (From A Discursive Dictionary of Health Care, 1976)

Services for the diagnosis and treatment of disease and the maintenance of health.

The amounts spent by individuals, groups, nations, or private or public organizations for total health care and/or its various components. These amounts may or may not be equivalent to the actual costs (HEALTH CARE COSTS) and may or may not be shared among the patient, insurers, and/or employers.

Variation in rates of disease occurrence and disabilities between population groups defined by socioeconomic characteristics such as age, ethnicity, economic resources, or gender and populations identified geographically or similar measures.

General or unspecified diseases of the stomatognathic system, comprising the mouth, teeth, jaws, and pharynx.

Education that increases the awareness and favorably influences the attitudes and knowledge relating to the improvement of health on a personal or community basis.

A combination of the debris index and the dental calculus index to determine the status of oral hygiene.

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

The integration of epidemiologic, sociological, economic, and other analytic sciences in the study of health services. Health services research is usually concerned with relationships between need, demand, supply, use, and outcome of health services. The aim of the research is evaluation, particularly in terms of structure, process, output, and outcome. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

Components of a national health care system which administer specific services, e.g., national health insurance.

Preferentially rated health-related activities or functions to be used in establishing health planning goals. This may refer specifically to PL93-641.

The principles of proper professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the dentist, relations with patients and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the dentist in patient care and interpersonal relations with patient families. (From Stedman, 25th ed)

Use for articles concerning dental education in general.

Devices used in the home by persons to maintain dental and periodontal health. The devices include toothbrushes, dental flosses, water irrigators, gingival stimulators, etc.

A numerical rating scale for classifying the periodontal status of a person or population with a single figure which takes into consideration prevalence as well as severity of the condition. It is based upon probe measurement of periodontal pockets and on gingival tissue status.

The seeking and acceptance by patients of health service.

The status of health in rural populations.

Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure.

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.

Attitudes of personnel toward their patients, other professionals, toward the medical care system, etc.

The science of controlling or modifying those conditions, influences, or forces surrounding man which relate to promoting, establishing, and maintaining health.

Individuals licensed to practice DENTISTRY.

The profession concerned with the teeth, oral cavity, and associated structures, and the diagnosis and treatment of their diseases including prevention and the restoration of defective and missing tissue.

A health care system which combines physicians, hospitals, and other medical services with a health plan to provide the complete spectrum of medical care for its customers. In a fully integrated system, the three key elements - physicians, hospital, and health plan membership - are in balance in terms of matching medical resources with the needs of purchasers and patients. (Coddington et al., Integrated Health Care: Reorganizing the Physician, Hospital and Health Plan Relationship, 1994, p7)

The promotion and maintenance of physical and mental health in the work environment.

The branch of dentistry concerned with the dental problems of older people.

Personnel whose work is prescribed and supervised by the dentist.

Diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive health services provided for individuals in the community.

Planning for the equitable allocation, apportionment, or distribution of available health resources.

The status of health in urban populations.

An artificial replacement for one or more natural teeth or part of a tooth, or associated structures, ranging from a portion of a tooth to a complete denture. The dental prosthesis is used for cosmetic or functional reasons, or both. DENTURES and specific types of dentures are also available. (From Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed, p244 & Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p643)

The activities and endeavors of the public health services in a community on any level.

Abnormal concretion or calcified deposit that forms around the teeth or dental prostheses.

Organized services to provide mental health care.

Abnormal fear or dread of visiting the dentist for preventive care or therapy and unwarranted anxiety over dental procedures.

Organized services to provide health care for children.

Inflammation of gum tissue (GINGIVA) without loss of connective tissue.

A specialized agency of the United Nations designed as a coordinating authority on international health work; its aim is to promote the attainment of the highest possible level of health by all peoples.

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of women.

The study of laws, theories, and hypotheses through a systematic examination of pertinent facts and their interpretation in the field of dentistry. (From Jablonski, Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry, 1982, p674)

Economic sector concerned with the provision, distribution, and consumption of health care services and related products.

The practice of dentistry concerned with preventive as well as diagnostic and treatment programs in a circumscribed population.

Preventive dental services provided for students in primary and secondary schools.

Persons trained in an accredited school or dental college and licensed by the state in which they reside to provide dental prophylaxis under the direction of a licensed dentist.

Practice of adding fluoride to water for the purpose of preventing tooth decay and cavities.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

Research aimed at assessing the quality and effectiveness of health care as measured by the attainment of a specified end result or outcome. Measures include parameters such as improved health, lowered morbidity or mortality, and improvement of abnormal states (such as elevated blood pressure).

Absence of teeth from a portion of the mandible and/or maxilla.

Health services, public or private, in rural areas. The services include the promotion of health and the delivery of health care.

Dental care for patients with chronic diseases. These diseases include chronic cardiovascular, endocrinologic, hematologic, immunologic, neoplastic, and renal diseases. The concept does not include dental care for the mentally or physically disabled which is DENTAL CARE FOR DISABLED.

Dental care for the emotionally, mentally, or physically disabled patient. It does not include dental care for the chronically ill ( = DENTAL CARE FOR CHRONICALLY ILL).

A generic concept reflecting concern with the modification and enhancement of life attributes, e.g., physical, political, moral and social environment; the overall condition of a human life.

Educational institutions for individuals specializing in the field of dentistry.

The availability of HEALTH PERSONNEL. It includes the demand and recruitment of both professional and allied health personnel, their present and future supply and distribution, and their assignment and utilization.

A nursing specialty concerned with promoting and protecting the health of populations, using knowledge from nursing, social, and public health sciences to develop local, regional, state, and national health policy and research. It is population-focused and community-oriented, aimed at health promotion and disease prevention through educational, diagnostic, and preventive programs.

A situation in which the level of living of an individual, family, or group is below the standard of the community. It is often related to a specific income level.

Planning that has the goals of improving health, improving accessibility to health services, and promoting efficiency in the provision of services and resources on a comprehensive basis for a whole community. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988, p299)

Providing for the full range of dental health services for diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and rehabilitation of patients.

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

Facilities which administer the delivery of health care services to people living in a community or neighborhood.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

An index which scores the degree of dental plaque accumulation.

Use for material on dental facilities in general or for which there is no specific heading.

Planning for health resources at a regional or multi-state level.

The total number of cases of a given disease in a specified population at a designated time. It is differentiated from INCIDENCE, which refers to the number of new cases in the population at a given time.

Systematic identification of a population's needs or the assessment of individuals to determine the proper level of services needed.

The psychological relations between the dentist and patient.

Available manpower, facilities, revenue, equipment, and supplies to produce requisite health care and services.

Societies whose membership is limited to dentists.

Conversations with an individual or individuals held in order to obtain information about their background and other personal biographical data, their attitudes and opinions, etc. It includes school admission or job interviews.

Activities and programs intended to assure or improve the quality of care in either a defined medical setting or a program. The concept includes the assessment or evaluation of the quality of care; identification of problems or shortcomings in the delivery of care; designing activities to overcome these deficiencies; and follow-up monitoring to ensure effectiveness of corrective steps.

Agents used to occlude dental enamel pits and fissures in the prevention of dental caries.

Health care provided to specific cultural or tribal peoples which incorporates local customs, beliefs, and taboos.

Traumatic or other damage to teeth including fractures (TOOTH FRACTURES) or displacements (TOOTH LUXATION).

Treatment for the prevention of periodontal diseases or other dental diseases by the cleaning of the teeth in the dental office using the procedures of DENTAL SCALING and DENTAL POLISHING. The treatment may include plaque detection, removal of supra- and subgingival plaque and calculus, application of caries-preventing agents, checking of restorations and prostheses and correcting overhanging margins and proximal contours of restorations, and checking for signs of food impaction.

An interactive process whereby members of a community are concerned for the equality and rights of all.

The obligations and accountability assumed in carrying out actions or ideas on behalf of others.

A stratum of people with similar position and prestige; includes social stratification. Social class is measured by criteria such as education, occupation, and income.

Studies designed to assess the efficacy of programs. They may include the evaluation of cost-effectiveness, the extent to which objectives are met, or impact.

Differences in access to or availability of medical facilities and services.

Substances that inhibit or arrest DENTAL CARIES formation. (Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed)

Media that facilitate transportability of pertinent information concerning patient's illness across varied providers and geographic locations. Some versions include direct linkages to online consumer health information that is relevant to the health conditions and treatments related to a specific patient.

A geographic location which has insufficient health resources (manpower and/or facilities) to meet the medical needs of the resident population.

Individuals enrolled a school of dentistry or a formal educational program in leading to a degree in dentistry.

Services designed for HEALTH PROMOTION and prevention of disease.

Statistical models which describe the relationship between a qualitative dependent variable (that is, one which can take only certain discrete values, such as the presence or absence of a disease) and an independent variable. A common application is in epidemiology for estimating an individual's risk (probability of a disease) as a function of a given risk factor.

A constituent organization of the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES concerned with protecting and improving the health of the nation.

Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.

A self-evaluation of health status.

Groups of persons whose range of options is severely limited, who are frequently subjected to COERCION in their DECISION MAKING, or who may be compromised in their ability to give INFORMED CONSENT.

Individuals whose ancestral origins are in the islands of the central and South Pacific, including Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and traditionally Australasia.

Professions or other business activities directed to the cure and prevention of disease. For occupations of medical personnel who are not physicians but who are working in the fields of medical technology, physical therapy, etc., ALLIED HEALTH OCCUPATIONS is available.

The health status of the family as a unit including the impact of the health of one member of the family on the family as a unit and on individual family members; also, the impact of family organization or disorganization on the health status of its members.

A quality-of-life scale developed in the United States in 1972 as a measure of health status or dysfunction generated by a disease. It is a behaviorally based questionnaire for patients and addresses activities such as sleep and rest, mobility, recreation, home management, emotional behavior, social interaction, and the like. It measures the patient's perceived health status and is sensitive enough to detect changes or differences in health status occurring over time or between groups. (From Medical Care, vol.xix, no.8, August 1981, p.787-805)

Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances.

The physical condition of human reproductive systems.

Health services for employees, usually provided by the employer at the place of work.

Facilities where dental care is provided to patients.

Organized services to provide health care to expectant and nursing mothers.

Health insurance plans for employees, and generally including their dependents, usually on a cost-sharing basis with the employer paying a percentage of the premium.

Patterns of practice in dentistry related to diagnosis and treatment.

An operating division of the US Department of Health and Human Services. It is concerned with the overall planning, promoting, and administering of programs pertaining to health and medical research. Until 1995, it was an agency of the United States PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE.

The expected function of a member of a particular profession.

Those actions designed to carry out recommendations pertaining to health plans or programs.

Federal, state, or local government organized methods of financial assistance.

Decreased salivary flow.

The inhabitants of rural areas or of small towns classified as rural.

Appraisal of one's own personal qualities or traits.

Dentifrices that are formulated into a paste form. They typically contain abrasives, HUMECTANTS; DETERGENTS; FLAVORING AGENTS; and CARIOSTATIC AGENTS.

Health services, public or private, in urban areas. The services include the promotion of health and the delivery of health care.

An offensive, foul breath odor resulting from a variety of causes such as poor oral hygiene, dental or oral infections, or the ingestion of certain foods.

A film that attaches to teeth, often causing DENTAL CARIES and GINGIVITIS. It is composed of MUCINS, secreted from salivary glands, and microorganisms.

Any change in the hue, color, or translucency of a tooth due to any cause. Restorative filling materials, drugs (both topical and systemic), pulpal necrosis, or hemorrhage may be responsible. (Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p253)

Preventive health services provided for students. It excludes college or university students.

Examination of the mouth and teeth toward the identification and diagnosis of intraoral disease or manifestation of non-oral conditions.

Services for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the aged and the maintenance of health in the elderly.

Secondary or systemic infections due to dissemination throughout the body of microorganisms whose primary focus of infection lies in the periodontal tissues.

The systematic application of information and computer sciences to public health practice, research, and learning.

The organization and administration of health services dedicated to the delivery of health care.

The decision process by which individuals, groups or institutions establish policies pertaining to plans, programs or procedures.

The process of formulating, improving, and expanding educational, managerial, or service-oriented work plans (excluding computer program development).

The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra.

State plans prepared by the State Health Planning and Development Agencies which are made up from plans submitted by the Health Systems Agencies and subject to review and revision by the Statewide Health Coordinating Council.

A group of people with a common cultural heritage that sets them apart from others in a variety of social relationships.

A course of study offered by an educational institution.

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

Method for obtaining information through verbal responses, written or oral, from subjects.

Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function.

The teeth of the first dentition, which are shed and replaced by the permanent teeth.

Norms, criteria, standards, and other direct qualitative and quantitative measures used in determining the quality of health care.

A geographic area defined and served by a health program or institution.

Ongoing scrutiny of a population (general population, study population, target population, etc.), generally using methods distinguished by their practicability, uniformity, and frequently their rapidity, rather than by complete accuracy.

Health care services related to human REPRODUCTION and diseases of the reproductive system. Services are provided to both sexes and usually by physicians in the medical or the surgical specialties such as REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE; ANDROLOGY; GYNECOLOGY; OBSTETRICS; and PERINATOLOGY.

Studies in which variables relating to an individual or group of individuals are assessed over a period of time.

Organized services to provide health care to women. It excludes maternal care services for which MATERNAL HEALTH SERVICES is available.

The predisposition to tooth decay (DENTAL CARIES).

Voluntary groups of people representing diverse interests in the community such as hospitals, businesses, physicians, and insurers, with the principal objective to improve health care cost effectiveness.

Persons functioning as natural, adoptive, or substitute parents. The heading includes the concept of parenthood as well as preparation for becoming a parent.

The interactions between members of a community and representatives of the institutions within that community.

Longitudinal patient-maintained records of individual health history and tools that allow individual control of access.

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of men.

Recommendations for directing health planning functions and policies. These may be mandated by PL93-641 and issued by the Department of Health and Human Services for use by state and local planning agencies.

Any type of research that employs nonnumeric information to explore individual or group characteristics, producing findings not arrived at by statistical procedures or other quantitative means. (Qualitative Inquiry: A Dictionary of Terms Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1997)

Elements of residence that characterize a population. They are applicable in determining need for and utilization of health services.

Persons diagnosed as having significantly lower than average intelligence and considerable problems in adapting to everyday life or lacking independence in regard to activities of daily living.

Evaluation procedures that focus on both the outcome or status (OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT) of the patient at the end of an episode of care - presence of symptoms, level of activity, and mortality; and the process (ASSESSMENT, PROCESS) - what is done for the patient diagnostically and therapeutically.

Organized efforts by communities or organizations to improve the health and well-being of infants.

The interaction of persons or groups of persons representing various nations in the pursuit of a common goal or interest.

Organized systems for providing comprehensive prepaid health care that have five basic attributes: (1) provide care in a defined geographic area; (2) provide or ensure delivery of an agreed-upon set of basic and supplemental health maintenance and treatment services; (3) provide care to a voluntarily enrolled group of persons; (4) require their enrollees to use the services of designated providers; and (5) receive reimbursement through a predetermined, fixed, periodic prepayment made by the enrollee without regard to the degree of services provided. (From Facts on File Dictionary of Health Care Management, 1988)

The inhabitants of a city or town, including metropolitan areas and suburban areas.

The function of directing or controlling the actions or attitudes of an individual or group with more or less willing acquiescence of the followers.

The purposes, missions, and goals of an individual organization or its units, established through administrative processes. It includes an organization's long-range plans and administrative philosophy.

The interaction of two or more persons or organizations directed toward a common goal which is mutually beneficial. An act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit, i.e., joint action. (From Random House Dictionary Unabridged, 2d ed)

Financial resources provided for activities related to health planning and development.