Burton Edelstein

Biography

 Dr. Burton L. Edelstein is a board-certified pediatric dentist and professor of dentistry and public health at Columbia University, where he is Chairman of the Section on Social and Behavioral Sciences in the College of Dental Medicine. His is founding director of the Children's Dental Health Project, a DC-based organization that promotes federal and state policies and programs to improve children's oral health equity. At CDHP, he is Director of the National Oral Health Policy Center supported by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Dr. Edelstein practiced pediatric dentistry in Connecticut and taught at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine for 21 years before committing to a full-time health policy position. With primary responsibilities for SCHIP, he served as a 1996-7 Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow in the office of U.S. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. He worked with the US Department of Health and Human Services on its oral health initiatives from 1998 to 2001, chaired the US Surgeon General's Workshop on Children and Oral Health, and authored the child section of the US Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health in America.

Research Interest

 Dr. Edelstein is a graduate of Harpur College, SUNY Buffalo School of Dentistry, Harvard School of Public Health, and the Boston Children's Hospital pediatric dentistry residency program. His work has been recognized by awards from a number of organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors, the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and the American College of Dentists.