Why children’s oral health is a public health concern with David Krol

Release date: February 2, 2026

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. To kick it off, I asked David Krol on the podcast to provide an overview of children’s oral health. David is former Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Oral Health; the lead author of AAP's clinical report, Maintaining and Improving the Oral Health of Young Children; and an eloquent and passionate advocate for children’s oral health. In other words, the ideal Talking About Kids guest. More information about David is below.

Biography of David Krol

Dr. David Krol, a pediatrician, serves as Medical Director of the Connecticut Children’s Care Network. Dr. Krol brings to his work 25 years of experience and leadership in clinical practice, policy, research, education, administration, and advocacy. In his current role, Dr. Krol works closely with primary care pediatricians and pediatric specialists to improve quality, enhance health outcomes, and manage costs by designing value-based care strategies to improve pediatric population health.

Dr. Krol is co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clinical report, Maintaining and Improving the Oral Health of Young Children and a member of the American Dental Association Give Kids a Smile Committee. He has served as the chair of the AAP Section on Oral Health and on many state, national and international expert panels, technical advisory groups, and task forces on oral health.

A graduate of the University of Toledo, he received his MD from the Yale University School of Medicine, and completed his residency in pediatrics at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Cleveland. He received an MPH from the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University and is an alumnus of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program and a former Bush Fellow in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University. Dr. Krol is a diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics and a proud Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.