The ADA is urging the federal government to reverse proposed cuts to the CDC’s oral health division, warning that the move undermines public health and endangers systemic well-being.
In a strongly worded statement, the American Dental Association (ADA) is sounding the alarm over proposed federal workforce reductions that threaten to undercut vital public health efforts. The ADA’s concern centers on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Oral Health—a cornerstone of national programs supporting disease prevention, oral health education, water fluoridation, and dental sealants.
The entire Division of Oral Health was dismantled on April 1, as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping overhaul of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The CDC is a sub-agency of HHS.
ADA President Brett Kessler, DDS, stated, “I am disappointed with the Department of Government Efficiency’s targeting of oral health workforce reductions. Blunt actions like this do not make Americans healthy. They make us sick. The mouth is the gateway to the body. When the mouth is healthier, the body is too.”
The Division of Oral Health also plays a key role in developing safety and infection control guidelines for dental practices and producing nationwide data that informs health policy. The ADA warns that scaling back these efforts could have far-reaching consequences, not only for underserved communities but for the overall effectiveness of public health strategies.
“I see in my patients, when the mouth is ignored, the body suffers, inflammation increases and compromised people get sicker, and our collective quality of life plummets,” said Kessler.
The ADA is urging Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy and President Trump to reverse course and restore support for the CDC’s oral health programs. Oral health, its says, must remain a national priority, valued, supported and promoted across all levels of the Administration.
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