Horowitz H S
Dental Research and Public Health, Bethesda, MD 20817.
J Public Health Dent. 1992;52(6):383-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-7325.1992.tb02312.x.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), by ensuring that the health care products used by Americans are both safe and effective, provides an essential regulatory function. With respect to the regulation of dental drug products, this researcher perceives that the FDA has not changed or modified its position on a number of issues to reflect new scientific information. Reasons for this inflexibility include the size and ponderousness of the agency, inadequate staff with dental expertise, and a failure to keep current with new dental research findings. The FDA must solve these problems if it wishes to regulate intelligently. The acceptance and certification programs of the American Dental Association ensure that products offered to the profession and the public that bear its seal of acceptance are safe and effective. The ADA's Council on Dental Therapeutics has a long history of staying current on issues in dental research and public health and regularly seeks consultation from eminently qualified experts. Overall, it has done an excellent job over the years in conducting an important voluntary regulatory program. Both the FDA and the ADA benefit and help protect the oral health of the public.
美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）通过确保美国人使用的医疗保健产品安全有效，发挥着至关重要的监管职能。关于牙科药品的监管，该研究人员认为，FDA在一些问题上并未改变或调整其立场以反映新的科学信息。这种僵化的原因包括该机构规模庞大、行动迟缓，缺乏具备牙科专业知识的工作人员，以及未能跟上新的牙科研究成果。如果FDA希望进行明智的监管，就必须解决这些问题。美国牙科协会的认可和认证项目确保向专业人士和公众提供的带有其认可标志的产品安全有效。美国牙科协会牙科治疗理事会长期以来一直紧跟牙科研究和公共卫生领域的问题，并定期征求杰出专家的意见。总体而言，多年来它在开展一项重要的自愿监管项目方面做得非常出色。FDA和美国牙科协会都从中受益，并有助于保护公众的口腔健康。
