New Directions—Constituencies and Responsibilities

Six critical questions are discussed as background information for the participants as the future direction for dental public health in North Carolina is considered. (1) Why should a dental program exist as part of the state public health program? (2) Who are the current and future constituents? (3) What programs will be necessary? (4) Where will dental public health programs function in the future? (5) How will dental public health programs function in the future? and (6) When will dental public health programs change? The Future of Public Health Report and the Year 2000 Objectives consider many of these questions for public health and dental public health. In addition to this information, the inequities of oral health status, access to care among various population groups, constituency building, and the roles of government agencies have to be considered. This presentation challenges public health to visualize possibilities for a future that cannot be seen, but that needs to be anticipated.