The purpose of this thesis is to inform,
- to improve the state of oral health care in the Black community.
- to analyze the dental hygiene issues that impact the Black community, and the hygiene practices that impact their health.
- to compare the differences between oral health care, dental insurance coverage, and dental hygiene practices between Black and White individuals living in New York City.
- to study how the wearing of Grillz or installation of permanent gold teeth contribute to dental hygiene.
- to describe alternative dental hygiene methods (particularly among people without dental insurance).
- to propose holistic, alternative dental hygiene practices.
Select the three aims that are the most SMART and central to the improvement in public health practice or policy that you identified earlier. Compose a paragraph that refines and expands on those three aims and links them to the outcome you identified earlier.
For my thesis, my aims will be to analyze oral care issues that impact the Black community, and how their dental hygiene practices impact their overall health; to compare the differences between oral health care, dental insurance coverage, and dental hygiene practices between Black and White individuals living in New York City; and to study how the wearing of Grillz and installation of gold and/or diamond teeth contribute to dental hygiene.
Black individuals, when compared to White individuals, have higher morbidity and mortality for diseases directly related to oral health care.
Black individuals, who live in marginalized communities has more restricted access to dental insurance coverage. Often due to income restrictions or poor employment benefits.
Gold grillz, caps and permanent teeth installations, which are often used as adornment accessories, sometimes contribute to the deterioration of oral health. However, they are also, sometimes, used as an alternative to dental care. For example, people in New Orleans who cannot afford dental insurance and have rotting teeth opt to knock out their teeth and install permanent gold teeth instead. It is so common that it has become a cultural shift.
