As part of the Community Health Foundation of Western & Central New York’s (CHFWCNY) commitment to improving access to oral health for children in poverty, the Foundation commissioned a white paper, Maximizing Public Dollars in the Provision of Dental Care in New York State. The paper offers an analysis of oral health financing and policy challenges in New York state, provides strategies to maximize financial expenditures to improve children’s oral health, and offers specific policy-level and programmatic options for policy makers, providers and advocates. While focused on the City of Syracuse, this paper is relevant to a wider audience consisting of anyone concerned about the oral health of children living in communities of poverty.

This paper is written by Burton Edelstein, DDS MPH Professor of Clinical Dentistry and Clinical Health Policy and Management at Columbia University, New York, NY. Dr. Edelstein, a highly acclaimed oral health public policy authority, presented the paper on June 15, 2009, in Syracuse, NY. Feedback received at that presentation has informed edits to the paper. A list of the changes made based on the input received is available below along with the full report.