Promoting the oral health of older adults through the chronic disease model: CDC's perspective on what we still need to know.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has adopted a multicomponent approach to health promotion: the Chronic Disease Model. Among its underlying public health principles are 1) recognition of the universal preference for primary prevention of disease, 2) awareness that prevention often takes place outside of clinical settings and is influenced by behaviors that can be affected by social circumstances and institutional policies, 3) the need to base program efforts on the best available science, 4) the special responsibility of public health for at-risk populations, and 5) the need for population-based approaches. Such approaches require public health agencies to build programs that engage broad networks of partners; monitor diseases, risk factors, and behaviors; implement proven prevention strategies; and evaluate programs rigorously. If CDC is to implement comprehensive programs to promote the oral health of elderly people, more information is needed. In this short report we comment on gaps in knowledge concerning the components of programs, measurement of oral diseases and risk factors, and the effectiveness of preventive interventions at the self-care, clinical, and community levels for dental caries and oral and pharyngeal cancers.