Historically certain minority or disadvantaged population groups based on race, ethnicity, age, gender, income, and education level have suffered from poor oral health and health outcomes. Such disparities are indicative of systemic issues that continue to affect the most vulnerable groups of the population, and what has been achieved or supported in addressing and/or eliminating these barriers. Public health programs, and professionals have made significant progress on general physical health, supported by creating and sustaining an evidence-based, data-driven culture across all levels of the system. Unfortunately, oral health has been a neglected issue in these efforts mainly due to historical injustices, unfavorable public policies, and politically and socially unjust climates, lack of useful, relevant, and local data about oral health-creating gaps in services that support or sustain improved oral health. For equitable oral health outcomes to be possible a data-driven, evidence-based ecosystem for eliminating oral health disparities is essential.
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