Public Health Book Pick: Teeth

We’re celebrating 100 years of public health in Greene County with books that highlight public health issues of the past, present, and future.

This Month’s Pick:

Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America, by Mary Otto

Teeth takes readers on a disturbing journey into America's silent epidemic of oral disease, exposing the hidden connections between tooth decay and stunted job prospects, low educational achievement, decreased social mobility, and the troubling state of our public health.

Otto's subjects include the pioneering dentist who made teeth sparkle on the silver screen and helped create the all-American image of “pearly whites,” the young Maryland boy whose tragic death from an abscessed tooth sparked congressional hearings, and a marketing guru who advises dentists on how to push new and expensive treatments and keep Medicaid patients at bay. This book exposes the extent and meaning of our oral health crisis, and will spark an urgent conversation about why our teeth matter.

To learn more about public health, visit the Greene County Public Health website or take part in one of their upcoming events.