CDE: Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality and the Struggle for Oral Health in America

Virtually via BlueJean’s

Time: 4:00 – 5:00 pm ** NEW TIME **
Registration Fee: Free; registration required.
Register: ATTEND VIRTUALLY »

Description

Mary Otto, journalist and author of the book Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality and the Struggle for Oral Health in America will share stories from a reporting journey that began with the death of a Maryland child from complications of tooth decay. She will speak about what she learned about the history of the divide between dental and health care and how this disconnect impacts access to oral health services. She will also discuss efforts to address oral health disparities and integrate oral health into America’s health care system.

Access the Ebook through the Penn Library System** or your local Library.
**The Penn Library System does require and active PennKey and password.

Objectives

• Attendees will hear stories from a journalist’s journey into America’s dental care system.
• They will learn about the origins of the historic divide between dental and medical care.
• They will explore examples of how that divide continues to impact access to dental care and our understanding of oral health.

Speaker

Mary Otto
Independent Journalist
Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ)

Mary Otto is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist who began writing about oral health at The Washington Post, where she covered social issues, including health care and poverty. In 2007, she wrote about 12-year-old Deamonte Driver, a Maryland child covered by Medicaid who died after bacteria from a dental infection spread to his brain. The death of the boy spurred congressional hearings, a revamping of Maryland’s Medicaid dental system and increased attention to oral health access for Medicaid children nationwide. After leaving the Post in 2008, Otto spent an academic year studying oral health at Harvard as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. She now works as an independent journalist and oral health topic leader for the Association of Health Care Journalists. She is the author of the book Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality and the Struggle for Oral Health In America published in 2017 by The New Press.