Per the notice below, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued its 2024 annual report on evidence gaps for clinical preventive services, including oral health.

USPSTF Releases 14th Annual Report to Congress on Evidence Gaps

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has released its “14th Annual Report to Congress on High-Priority Evidence Gaps for Clinical Preventive Services.”  In this annual report, the USPSTF reflects on 40 years of improving health through preventive recommendations and calls attention to high-priority research gaps related to promoting health across the lifespan, in all communities.  The report also reinforces the USPSTF’s commitment to improving health equity by highlighting research gaps in underserved populations and high-risk groups.  The topics featured in this report include:

• Prevention of Child Maltreatment: Primary Care Interventions
• Speech and Language Delay and Disorders in Children: Screening
• High Body Mass Index in Children and Adolescents: Interventions
• Oral Health in Children, Adolescents, and Adults: Screening and Preventive Interventions
• Iron Deficiency and Iron Deficiency Anemia During Pregnancy: Screening and Supplementation
• Breast Cancer: Screening
• Falls Prevention in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Interventions

Future research can help fill gaps in these areas and may result in new recommendations that will help to improve the health of people nationwide.  By identifying evidence gaps and highlighting them as research priorities, the USPSTF aims to inspire collaboration among researchers to generate new knowledge in disease prevention, reduce disparities in healthcare, and close key evidence gaps.  Read the complete report on the USPSTF website.