Nearly 48 million adults, or about 15.5% of the United States population, live in a rural location. But what is rural America? Is it a farming community in the heartland or the river-navigable region of the Mississippi Delta? Is it the Blackfeet Nation on the border of Canada or a predominantly Latino exurb in the southwest? How about a retirement community in New England or the ski-lover’s paradise of the Colorado Rockies? And why is the rural adult population a vulnerable population, in terms of oral health?

A vast space that encompasses over 75% of the country’s mass, rural land and life in the United States are as diverse geographically as they are culturally. Yet, there are some traits that characterize the rural adult population, at the population level. For example, rural adults tend to have poorer health than urban adults. This may be due to fewer medical and dental providers, higher rates of behavioral risk factors such as smoking tobacco or sedentariness, or a higher likelihood of being employed by a smaller firm that doesn’t provide benefits such as medical or dental insurance. However, there are some semi-rural communities that are doing well and even outperforming both their suburban and remote rural neighbors by many socioeconomic and health measures.

1. Familiarize yourself with the rural U.S. adult population, their oral health status and the special considerations needed to effectively care for them throughout your career
2. Explore alternative careers in private practice dentistry and in delivery systems that serve rural adults in the U.S.

Let’s learn more about rural U.S. adults…

Listen to Dr. Carole Pratt introduce some of the key aspects of working with a rural population.

Carole Pratt practiced general dentistry in rural southwest Virginia for 32 years. During that time, she served four terms as chair of Virginia’s Board of Health and vice chair of the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services. She is the immediate past chair of the board of trustees at Lewis Gale Hospital at Pulaski, and in 2009, Pratt was a fellow of the National Rural Health Association. She is a member of the Virginia Oral Health Coalition and she has chaired the Southwest Virginia Graduate Medical Education Consortium, which creates and supports medical residency preceptor sites in rural and underserved communities.

Dr. Pratt has served as chair of the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance, chair of Virginia’s Small Business Advisory Board, and is currently a member of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership Board of Directors. In addition, she has volunteered for eleven years at the annual Virginia Dental Association Mission of Mercy clinics, which have provided 13,597 patients in rural southwest Virginia with $8.1 million of free treatment. In 2007, Pratt was recognized with a professional achievement award by the Women in Science, Medicine, and Dentistry of Virginia Commonwealth University for serving as a role model and mentor for the professional development of women faculty.

Pratt received her D.D.S. from the Medical College of Virginia (Virginia Commonwealth University) School of Dentistry and is a member of the Dean’s Board of Advisors. She received her B.S. in biology from Virginia Tech, where she currently serves as a member of the Biology Department Alumni Advisory Board.