According to the Surgeon General's first report on the state of the nation's oral hygiene, there is a "silent epidemic" of dental and oral diseases affecting certain population groups, especially ethnic and racial minority groups, the poor of all ages, and medically compromised patients.

The project director and managing editor of the report, Dr. Caswell Evans, is giving a talk at UIC entitled "A Critical Opportunity for Action - The Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health."

Friday, Sept. 29
Noon - 1 p.m.

Auditorium Molecular Biology Research Building 900 S. Ashland Ave. (enter from S. Marshfield Ave. - the west side of the building)

Important new biomedical research is emerging that demonstrates the link between oral health and general health. The very meaning of dental health has come to encompass far more than cavities and gum disease. Dental health now incorporates a scientific recognition, as the Surgeon General's report puts it, that the mouth is a "mirror of health or disease" that can help diagnose disorders such as diabetes, leukemia, heart disease or anemia. Unfortunately, dental care is often not provided by the nation's health care system, so the benefits of this revolution in thinking about oral health have not reached enough Americans. An estimated 25 million Americans live in areas lacking adequate dental care services. Not surprisingly, the poor, the aged, the rural and the disadvantaged have substantially less access to dental health care than they need or deserve.