42 U.S.C. § 280k: Oral healthcare prevention…

Summary

The Secretary must set up a 5-year national public education campaign, working through the CDC Director and with oral health professional groups, if money is available. The campaign will teach how to prevent oral diseases like early childhood and other cavities, gum disease, and oral cancer. It must focus on groups such as children, pregnant women, parents, older adults, people with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities (including Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians). Messages must be science-based, use methods like community water fluoridation and dental sealants, and be culturally and language-appropriate. The Secretary may also give grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, after consulting CDC and HRSA leaders, to help state, local, and tribal health officials and partners run community prevention programs and increase public awareness. Eligible recipients include dental associations; state or tribal health departments or oral health programs; accredited dental or dental hygiene schools or postdoctoral programs; and nonprofit community groups that partner with public or private nonprofits (like colleges) to serve underserved people.

Title 42, §280k

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment of Oral Health Education Campaign

The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in consultation with professional oral health organizations, shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, establish a 5-year national, public education campaign (referred to in this section as the “campaign”) that is focused on oral health education, including prevention of oral disease such as early childhood and other caries, periodontal disease, and oral cancer.

(b)Requirements

In establishing the campaign under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

(1)ensure that activities are targeted towards specific populations such as children, pregnant women, parents, the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and ethnic and racial minority populations, including Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians (as defined in section 1603(c) of title 25) in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner; and

(2)utilize science-based strategies to convey oral health prevention messages that include, but are not limited to, community water fluoridation and dental sealants.

(c)Action for dental health program

(1)In general

The Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, may award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to collaborate with State or local public health officials, tribal health officials, oral health professional organizations, and others, as appropriate, to develop and implement initiatives to improve oral health, including activities to prevent dental disease and reduce barriers to the provision of dental services, including—

(A)through community-wide dental disease prevention programs; and

(B)by increasing public awareness and education related to oral health and dental disease prevention.

(2)Eligible entities

To be eligible to receive a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this subsection, an entity shall be—

(A)a dental association;

(B)a State or tribal health department or State or tribal oral health program;

(C)an accredited dental education, dental hygiene, or postdoctoral dental education program; or

(D)a non-profit community-based organization that partners with public and private non-profit entities, such as an academic institution, to facilitate the provision of dental services to underserved populations.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 1603(c) of title 25, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), which defines “Indians”, was redesignated section 1603(13) of title 25 by Pub. L. 111–148, title X, § 10221(a), Mar. 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 935.

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–302, § 2(a)(1), inserted “of Oral Health Education Campaign” after “Establishment” in heading and substituted “focused on oral health education” for “focused on oral healthcare prevention and education” in text. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–302, § 2(a)(2), substituted “campaign under subsection (a)” for “campaign” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–302, § 2(a)(3), added subsec. (c) and struck out former subsec. (c). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Not later than 2 years after March 23, 2010, the Secretary shall begin implementing the 5-year campaign. During the 2-year period referred to in the previous sentence, the Secretary shall conduct planning activities with respect to the campaign.”

§280k Oral Healthcare Prevention Education Campaign