The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has underscored the need to prevent chronic disease and promote health.1 , 2 More than a million American lives have been lost to COVID-19, and life expectancy decreased between 2018 and 2020.3 , 4 Chronic diseases are major risk factors for COVID-19 morbidity and mortality.5 In addition, COVID-19 morbidity and mortality have been higher among persons from racial and ethnic groups such as those who are African American, Hispanic or Latino, and American Indian or Alaska Native as well as those living at lower SES.6 This has magnified pre-existing health inequities in chronic disease.1 , 2 , 7

Oral health is essential to overall health (1), and dental publichealth is a field of public health and a specialized field of dentistrythat focuses on improving access to oral health care and understandingthe factors that contribute to improving oral health from apopulation health perspective (2). This collection of articles inPreventing Chronic Disease (PCD), “Oral Health Behaviors andAvailability of Dental Services Among Children and Adults,” features8 articles that discuss contemporary dental public healthchallenges and opportunities. These include inequities in access todental care, disparities in the prevalence of oral disease, risk behaviorsrelated to oral disease, the relationship between oral healthand chronic diseases, and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemicon oral health © 2021, Preventing Chronic Disease. All Rights Reserved.