Since the release of the National Call to Action to Promote Oral Health, I designed a Guide to help inspire and motivate dental hygienists across the country to take action in promoting oral and total health.  The National Call to Action to Promote Oral Health highlights the major findings contained in the Surgeon General's Report, Oral Health in America.  This Guide consolidates the oral health objectives and related focus areas in Healthy People 2010.  These objectives show what each one of us can do and where we can best focus our energies.

 

 

 

National Call to Action to Promote Oral Health

 

 

Tobacco Cessation

Text Box: Text Box: Ask. Advise. Refer. is ADHA's national Smoking Cessation Initiative (SCI) designed to promote tobacco cessation intervention by dental hygienists.  As part of the Ask. Advise. Refer. program, dental hygienists refer their patient/client to tobacco quitlines, as well as to web-based and local cessation programs.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Nutrition

Text Box:   Text Box: Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity contains nutrition information for the dental hygienist and offers basic dietary guidance that can be applied to clinical dental hygiene practice. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans provides evidence-based recommendations to reduce risk for heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and certain cancers. Promotion of these Dietary Guidelines to the public may also help reduce the incidence of dental caries, oral cancer, and may be effective in improving periodontal health.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Diabetes

 

Text Box: Text Box: Working Together to Manage Diabetes Diabetes education must be consistent across the disciplines of pharmacy, podiatry, optometry, and dentistry (PPOD), and promote a collaborative approach to comprehensive diabetes care. Many diabetics, or those who are at risk for diabetes, do not regularly visit a primary care provider but may seek the services of a PPOD provider. Dental hygienists are well positioned to deliver prevention messages, communicate the need for metabolic control, and facilitate multidisciplinary diabetes care.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Hypertension

Text Box: Text Box: Prevent and Control High Blood Pressure Blood pressure screening is common to the dental hygiene practice and is a drastically underutilized service.  Measurement of blood pressure may suggest the presence of hypertension as well as the patient/client’s hypertension control.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Oral Cancer

Text Box: Text Box: Oral Cancer Screening and Early Detection Cancer can affect any part of the oral cavity, including the lip, tongue, mouth, and throat. Oral cancer will cause 7,320 deaths, killing roughly 1 person every hour. Of those newly diagnosed cases, about 85% will survive 1 year after diagnosis, and only 59% will be alive in 5 years.  Dental hygienists educate the public about the risk factors, and signs and symptoms of oral cancer.   Dental hygienists are the first line of defense to identify abnormal changes in oral tissues, and detect oral cancer at an early, curable stage.