Pathways in dental public health

Dental public health is one of the nine specialties of dentistry recognized by the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation. Dental public health has been defined as the "science and art of preventing and controlling dental diseases and promoting dental health through organized community efforts. It is that form of dental practice which serves the community as a patient rather than as an individual. It is concerned with the dental health education of the public, with applied dental research, and with the administration of group dental care programs as well as the prevention and control of dental diseases on a community basis." This article will describe the many career and educational pathways dentists may follow to become irvolved in the practice of dental public health.