- GAO Seeks New Members for Tribal and Indigenous Advisory Council
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- Telehealth Study Recruiting Veterans Now
- USDA Delivers Immediate Relief to Farmers, Ranchers and Rural Communities Impacted by Recent Disasters
- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
Oral Health and Health Equity Infographic Available
The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation created an infographic highlighting the challenges to achieving optimal oral health. NIHCM identifies opportunities for advancing health equity moving forward. Gum disease remains one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in the United States with 46% of adults over 30 showing symptoms. Although significant improvements have been made to improve oral health in America, many people still experience barriers to preventive or essential dental care. Black Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans, as well as low-income populations, children and pregnant people are at greater risk of oral health diseases. The disparities experienced by these populations have only been exacerbated by the pandemic.
Federal Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act Advanced
The House Health Subcommittee has advanced the bipartisan “Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act,” which would require the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to develop a five-year oral health literacy campaign targeted to underserved communities. The bill is supported by the American Dental Association and other oral health organizations.
Health Care in Rural America: A Focus on Dental Care
The report, Health Care in Rural America: A Focus on Dental Care, presents findings from a survey of rural adults age 40 and over, conducted from November 20 to December 18, 2020. The report addresses challenges rural populations face in maintaining oral health and consistently accessing oral health providers, difficulties paying dental bills, and delays in seeking care. Data on dental visits by health status, income, insurance coverage, and reasons for delaying or forgoing care are presented.
Additional links: Annotated Questionnaire
Sponsoring organization: AARP
AAP Protect Tiny Teeth Implementation Project Launched
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), developed the “Protect Tiny Teeth Toolkit” to assist pediatric providers to address oral health during routine, non-urgent pediatric and prenatal visits. The AAP invites pediatric providers to participate in a 7-month quality improvement project to assess pediatric providers’ ability to screen, counsel, and refer children to a dental home using the toolkit and a learning collaborative led by the Project Advisory Committee. Practices will create a plan for implementing Protect Tiny Teeth tools in practice, identify a measurable goal, track, and report outcomes. Participating practices will be compensated $4,000 to defray costs and will be provided with the necessary materials. Applications are due by November 30th.
Nutrition Counseling for Obesity Prevention in Dental Practice
The Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry (TUKSoD) in collaboration with the Center for Obesity Research and Education at the College of Public Health developed an online training module, “Nutrition Counseling for Obesity Prevention: Applications in Dentistry.” The modules aim to serve as an evidence-based resource for interested dental schools and dental hygiene programs to increase the knowledge and skills of students on understanding childhood obesity and assessment and counseling tools for dental providers.
CareQuest Oral Health Resources Featured on Medical World News
Dr. Sean Boynes, Vice President of Health Improvement at the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, shared his perspective on how to help bridge the communication gap between primary care and oral health. Dr. Boynes shared more with Medical World News on their “Deep Dive” segment about the first implementation guides published by CareQuest and how they will improve collaboration and care.
Actions Anyone Can Take to Start Addressing Structural Racism in Health Care
In a follow-up blog post to a recent CareQuest Institute webinar, our expert panel from oral health and primary care shared several practical ways individuals and organizations can get started on their journey to build antiracist policies and practices into their local settings.
Take a Deep Dive into Better Medical & Dental Collaboration
On the heels of the first implementation guides to help bridge the communication gap between primary care and oral health, Sean Boynes, DMD, MS, CareQuest Institute’s vice president of health improvement, talked to Medical World News about how the guides will improve collaboration and care.
How Do Patients Feel about a Dental Benefit in Medicare?
According to CareQuest Institute research, more than 90% of survey respondents agreed that dental should be covered in Medicare. Survey respondents who had at least one unmet oral health need, such as a cracked tooth or swollen/bleeding gums, were 2.5% more likely to agree that Medicare should cover dental services. And those who rated their oral health as poor were 4.5% more likely to agree than those who rated their oral health as excellent.
How to Read a Study About Fluoride or Fluoridation
A new guide jointly produced by the British Fluoridation Society and the American Fluoridation Society, “How to Read a Study About Fluoride or Fluoridation,” can help dental and public health professionals strengthen their ability to assess water fluoridation research quality. The guide offers nine scientifically-based suggestions for assessing the quality of published research. The guide is accompanied by a “spoof research paper” that can be used to to apply these nine suggestions.