Rural Health Information Hub Latest News

Report Assesses Children’s Drink Choices

A new report from the University of Connecticut’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity assesses the sales, nutrition, and marketing of children’s drinks. Their findings show that sweetened drinks with added sugars and often low-calorie sweeteners continue to dominate sales and advertising of drinks marketed for children’s consumption. Overconsumption of these drinks can have adverse effects on children’s oral and overall health.

Click here to view the report.

ADA Guideline Advises Against Antibiotics for Dental Pain

A new ADA guideline indicates that “antibiotics are not needed to manage most dental pain and intraoral swelling associated with pulpal and periapical infections.” The guideline advises against using antibiotics for most pulpal and periapical conditions and instead recommends only the use of dental treatment and, if needed, over-the-counter pain relievers. This guideline is part of larger efforts across the globe to prevent antibiotics from becoming ineffective in treating bacterial infections.  Click here for more information.

DentaQuest Report Part 1: The Burden of Dental Care Costs for Low-Income Families

Did you know that people living in poverty spend ten times more as a proportion of their annual family income on dental services than high-income families? Click here to read Part 1 of our 3-part series that outlines barriers to dental care based on income, and how expansion of an adult dental benefit could increase access to care and reduce out-of-pocket costs.

Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 in our series about the burden of out-of-pocket costs of dental care for low-income families. Visit our Research page for other research briefs, white papers, articles and more.

Read the report from DentaQuest here: https://www.dentaquestpartnership.org/system/files/Poverty%20Report.pdf

Oral Health Advocates Flood Capitol Hill

On October 24, 2019, members of the Oral Health Progress and Equity Network (OPEN) from across the nation met with Congressional offices to talk about the importance of oral health. Advocates presented each office they met with three policy asks to improve oral health outcomes; include oral health coverage under Medicare Part B, include oral health as a mandatory component of pregnancy-related benefits in Medicaid, and increase funding for the CDC Division of Oral Health to support an oral health program in every state.

New Online Resource Addresses Oral Health Needs

The American Academy of Pediatrics has published the “Oral Health Prevention Primer,” an online resource for pediatricians and providers who want to do more to address the oral health needs of children. The resource will help providers working with children understand the roles of various oral health allies, how they can collaborate, ways to provide oral health services, and how to advocate to achieve optimal oral health for their community with the goal of preventing dental disease before it starts.

Click here to view the resource.

World Cavity-Free Day 2019

World Cavity-Free Day is October 14, 2019. This initiative was launched by the Alliance for a Cavity-Free Future in 2016. Use the 2019 resource pack to find family resources, professional resources, posters, images, infographics, a toolkit, and background information to promote World Cavity-Free Day in your area.   Click here to view the resource pack.

A New Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health Commissioned

VADM Jerome Adams has commissioned a Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health.  The Report is on track to be released in 2020 and will include the input of hundreds of experts and numerous organizations.  The newly commissioned report will describe key issues that currently affect oral health, and identify challenges and opportunities that have emerged since publication of the first report in 2000.