Shaping Public Health -bridging oral health and public health policy

Oral health isn't just about teeth - it's a public health issue. Saana Kataria, a dentist-turned-public health advocate is on a mission to bridge the gap between oral health, policy, and data-driven research.  Trained as a dentist in India, Saana's global experience in dentistry and healthcare across India and the U.S. exposed them to systemic barriers in oral health access. Working in California as a dental assistant and patient treatment coordinator and serving on the board of a Federally Qualified Health Centre (FQHC), Saana witnessed firsthand the challenges state-insured patients faced in receiving timely and adequate dental care.  Now pursuing an MPH at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, concentrating in Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Saana  is using research and advocacy to push for systemic change in oral health policy. They work as a research assistant at the Institute of a Global tobacco control at Johns Hopkins   At Hopkins, Saana isn't just studying public health, they're shaping it. As the Founder & President of the Johns Hopkins Oral Health Society, they are leading efforts to put oral health on the public health agenda. They've testified before the Maryland Legislature, hold leadership roles in the Student Assembly and APHA Student Assembly, and worked on the Global Oral Health Symposium at Hopkins in collaboration with Solidarity Dental and the Center for Global Health.