Improving Oral Health
in Rural Pennsylvania

Medical Oral Expanded Care

The Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health and the CareQuest Institute (formerly the DentaQuest Institute) began a partnership in 2016 to pilot the MORE Care (Medical, Oral Expanded Care) program within the state. The goal of this partnership was to find solutions to the oral health disparities that exist within rural communities. Oral health was introduced into rural primary care practices and dental referral networks were built.

While our formal participation in the collaborative has ended, however, we are still here to support your rural primary care practice in oral health integration!  Contact us today to learn more about integration of oral health into primary care practice, as well as ways that you can build dental referral networks in your community!

Resources for Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioners in Community Health Centers

In collaboration with the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers, the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health is pleased to offer information for Public Health Dental Hygiene Practitioners working in Community Health Centers (RHCs and FQHCs).

PHDHPs in FQHCs and RHCs

Fast Facts – PHDHPs in FQHCs and RHCs

Oral Health Status of Low-income Children in Pennsylvania: A Rural/Urban Comparison

“The Oral Health Status of Low-income Children in Pennsylvania: A Rural/Urban Comparison” is a project that staff from the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health completed for the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.  This research explored and documented the scope of dental screening programs within the school system, quantify the number of school districts with school-based dental sealant programs, track dental referrals and outcomes, perform analysis on the dental workforce with a focus on those serving Medicaid and CHIP recipients, and review Medicaid claims data. All data collected were helped to form policy recommendations to be presented to the Pennsylvania General Assembly with the goal of supporting increased access to high-quality oral health services in rural areas in Pennsylvania, as well as improving the oral health status of Commonwealth residents. Learn more about this project by viewing the full report.