B. Conduct the Assessment

Since the focus of the assessment is the community’s oral health needs and resources, it is important to obtain as complete and in-depth a picture of the community as possible.

1. Understand the Community

Understanding the community is instrumental in designing oral health programs that work for the community and resonate with its residents; this is central to good program planning and implementation.

It is particularly important to be aware of populations in the community at high risk for oral disease. Children; individuals with low incomes; and racial, cultural, and linguistic minorities often experience high rates of untreated oral disease and lack of access to oral health care. For example,

• The rate of untreated oral disease among children ages 2 to 5 from families with low incomes is almost five times that of children from families with higher incomes.⁷
• Dental sealants are more than four times more prevalent among white 14-year-olds than among their African-American counterparts.⁸
• The rate of untreated oral disease among American Indian and Alaska Native children ages 2 to 4 is six times that of white children in this age group.³
• Oral cancer mortality is twice as high among African-American males as among white males.⁹
• The rate of unmet oral health needs is four times as high among individuals without health insurance as among those with private insurance.¹⁰