The integration of oral health in primary health
care offers affordable and accessible health care to
underserved populations. Underserved populations include
not just individuals below the poverty level. Oral health is
one the most unmet health needs for many people, including
seniors, pregnant women, working poor, and the middle
class. So many have at some time in their lives had difficulty
accessing oral health care. Oral health may improve patient
outcomes and management of diabetes, cardiovascular
disease, nutrition, mental health. For these reasons, it’s
imperative that health practitioners feel comfortable
providing patients with basic oral health guidance. The 90
Second SMILE program was developed by Dr. Susan
Stukes, who has been a dentist for over 35 years. The
purpose of the 90 Second SMILE program is to teach and
empower practitioners how to quickly assess the oral health
of their patients, recognize red flags, provide guidance, and
properly refer to dental professionals, which provides more
holistic care for patients.