Introduction: the advent of precision public health and the future of dental public health

Abstract

On the surface, the precision oral health movement seems to be at odds with dental public health. After all, precision oral health care focuses on the individual patient, where dental public health addresses the oral health needs of populations.

Objective: The American Institute of Dental Public Health (AIDPH) convened a colloquium to discuss the role of dental public health in the future of precision oral health.

Methods: On January 25 and 26, 2018, nine thought leaders from across the US outlined the potential role of public health, and more specifically dental public health, in the world of precision public health. Six of the speakers were invited to share their thoughts in this special edition.

Results: The special issue of the Journal of Public Health Dentistry shares the knowledge and insight provided by the speakers at the colloquium. It is with gratitude for their contribution, as well as, the contribution of the reviewers, organizers of the colloquium, and those in attendance who contributed their collective knowledge that we present this issue. Special thanks to HRSA for their support of this work (D88HP28510).

Keywords: precision medicine; public health.