Dr. Varun Gupta

Public Health Dentistry is that part of dentistry providing leadership and expertise in population-based dentistry, oral health surveillance, policy development, community-based disease prevention and health promotion, and the maintenance of the dental safety net. Public Health Dentistry and the private practice model of care delivery together bear the responsibility of assuring optimal oral health for all. Having been an ADA recognized dental specialty since 1950, Public Health Dentistry is unique among the specialties in that it is not primarily a clinical specialty; it is a specialty whose practitioners focus on dental and oral health issues in communities and populations rather than individual patients. Public Health Dentistry has been defined in many ways, from "the science and the art of preventing and controlling disease and promoting dental health through organized community efforts" to "a non-clinical specialty of dentistry involved in the assessment of dental health needs and improving the dental health of populations rather than individuals."