Description

A debut in the tradition of Mary Roach by a prize-winning journalist: Mary Otto is the leading U.S. journalist covering oral health and dentistry, has won major industry awards, and is the recipient of national fellowships to support her work.

Opportunities: Dental care access burst onto the scene following the passage of ACA (Obamacare), yet no book has covered the problem. Minnesota, Washington, Maine, and Alaska have recently seen major legal battles over access to dental care, including significant fights with the American Dental Association. ACA included for the first time significant provisions for covering dental care, but states have acted slowly to implement these. Medicare still doesn’t cover preventative care for the elderly. Both are percolating as significant issues and are expected to break out following the presidential election.

Stature: Otto is the only national-level journalist poised to comment on these and related topics.

Launch event during week of pub: Otto will present the book as a featured speaker at the Missouri Coalition for Oral Health's 2017 conference.

Funding: Book received major funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation; we will coordinate closely with them to publicize the book to its large, national network of advocates, elected officials, etc.