Social Determinants of Health, such as access to healthcare or financial stability,1 contribute to one’s ability to thrive. They are the circumstances we are born into. It is these conditions that determine things such as distance from or economic access to doctors. To address public health inequities resulting from these determinants and historical context, resources must be curated to tackle the root of these issues.  

Black Americans exemplify a dynamic of interplay between systemic racism, Social Determinants of Health, and health status. The historical oppression of Black Americans has curated contemporary disadvantages in accessing resources that relate to overall well-being. Slavery, redlining, and other oppressive measures have contributed to contemporary outcomes. These disadvantages have acted as inhibitors for Black Americans relative to their non-Black counterparts. Well-being is subject to an individual's access to resources such as food or housing and care providers. Systemic Determinants of Your Smile seeks to show how this subject matter manifests in dental health through environmental storytelling and video context. The racial disparities in access to dental healthcare in the United States have a direct correlation with systemic racism due to the aforementioned history. Black Americans face challenges with obtaining dental healthcare because of financial burden, ineligibility to plans, as well as limited insurance coverage