Abstract

          The papers purpose is to provide a literature review of oral health measures. The content is designed to supply core information for future research involving the U.S. Armys Additional Dental Needs Over Time (ADNOT) Project. Outgrowth from this review will assist resource planners in determining adequate assets necessary to meet the dental requirements of U.S. Army personnel. As the ADNOT Project matures, acquired information should serve as a benchmarking tool to gain perspective of the basic resources to meet the Armys dental needs.

          This literature review is structured in three sections. The first section focuses on current oral health measures of the United States civilian population. For the most part, the data in civilian studies are derived from private sector insurance claims. Insurance companies monitor, track, and process benefit claims. In doing so, they are an important source of information regarding the provision of dental treatment for the insured civilian sector.

          The last two sections focus on the Department of Defense and the U.S. Armys oral health measures, respectively. The referenced documents are in limited circulation, but provide a wealth of epidemiologic data from the militarys population. A summary of this literature provides a historical perspective covering over 27 years of oral health measurements.