Oral

For more than a decade, the medical community has been discussing limited health literacy, including intervention strategies and the role of patient-provider communication on health outcomes. Oral health professionals, for the most part, have had limited involvement in the health literacy arena, focusing largely on health education and health promotion. While these are noble efforts, they are likely inadequate to reach certain populations. Demonstrable improvements in oral health literacy will require dental professionals to go beyond individual health educational and promotional strategies and address the shared function of social and individual factors related to oral health literacy and risk communication. Targeted interventions and advocacy also need to occur with the educational, oral health care and cultural/social systems to maximize the desired benefits of improving oral health literacy. Equally important are the communication skills of the professionals with whom patients and potential patients interact regarding oral health, as well as the ability of the media, marketplace and others to provide health information in a manner responsive to the public's needs. Participants will identify ways the oral health care team can reduce the information burden and more effectively communicate with dental patients and the public. This interactive discussion and planning session will focus on developing practical recommendations for leaders of professional associations who need to be involved to improve the oral health literacy of the public.

Session Objectives: 1. Develop recommendations about policies, programs and research related to oral health literacy, including investigation of possible causal pathways linking oral health literacy to oral disease; 2. Identify mechanisms and messages to encourage the American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD), American Dental Association (ADA), American Dental Education Association (ADEA), American Dental Hygiene Association (ADHA), Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD), and other professional oral health care organizations to develop programs and other interventions with oral health care team members and dental patients to improve oral health literacy and patient-provider communication; 3. Describe programs and other interventions with oral health care team members and dental patients to improve oral health literacy and patient-provider communication; 4. Discuss challenges facing oral health literacy practice and research and making recommendations to minimize these barriers; 5. Identify and make recommendations to the oral health professional community about approaches to promote oral health literacy through systems and partnerships in both the public and private sectors.

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing