- Miles for Milk: How Student-Run Grocery Store Reshaped Rural Community's Food Access
- Native Americans Have Shorter Life Spans, and It's Not Just Due to Lack of Health Care
- Promotoras Play Essential Role in Connecting Farmworkers with Health Care in Rural NorCal
- Using Medicaid to Address Young People's Mental Health Needs in School Settings
- Across the Country, Amish Populations Are on the Rise
- Sunsets, Wildlife and Limited Care: Challenges of Aging in Place in Rural America
- City-Country Mortality Gap Widens amid Persistent Holes in Rural Health Care Access
- Tribal Environmental Impact Network
- Minnesota's Rural Ambulance Providers Look to State Capitol for Their Own Lifeline
- Biden-Harris Administration Takes Action to Support the Primary Care Workforce
- Over 3,000 Homes on the Navajo Nation Receive Accurate Addresses for the First Time
- Rural Population Grows for Second Consecutive Year
- Rapides Library Offers Telehealth to a Town Without Doctors
- Rural Infection Preventionists Need Community Support
- New Federal Health IT Strategy Sets Sights on a Heathier, More Innovative, and More Equitable Health Care Experience
New Resource Released on Integrating Behavioral Health and Oral Health
The National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) released a new resource, “NNOHA User’s Guide for Integration of Behavioral Health and Oral Health.” The resource provides guidance on how to implement a behavioral health and oral health integration program. The guide includes a description of NNOHA’s systems-based framework for behavioral health integration, promising practices from community health centers, and workflow examples. There is also a readiness assessment to help community health centers determine their level of preparedness to implement a behavioral health integration program.
Updated Oral Health Risk Assessment Tool Launched
The American Academy of Pediatrics has streamlined their “Oral Health Risk Assessment Tool.” The tool is now accompanied by an intake form to collect pertinent patient information from parents/caregivers. An updated self-management goal sheet supports shared decision-making on preventing cavities and maintaining healthy teeth at home. The tool is available in both English and Spanish.
New Dental Clinical Practice Guidelines Released
The American Dental Association released a new clinical practice guideline on caries restoration. The new guideline includes sixteen recommendations for treating moderate or advanced caries lesions in primary and permanent teeth without a history of endodontic treatment. The guidance associated conservative approaches to removing carious tissue with a lower risk of adverse effects.
A Mobile Dental Tour Will Provide Free Onsite Dental Services in Pennsylvania
Highmark and United Concordia have embarked on mobile dental tours across Pennsylvania with the expectation of caring for more than 1,000 children, young adults, and senior citizens. The tours will be providing free onsite dental services, including exams, cleanings, fluoride treatments, and oral cancer screenings to underserved communities this summer. The tours use volunteer dentists and dental hygienists from United Concordia’s network to provide dental services. If care in addition to onsite services is needed, referrals will be provided. Dental services for each tour require pre-registration.
Proposed Changes Have Been Announced to Oral Health Performance Measures
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is proposing to transition oral health from an NPM (National Performance Measure) to an SPM (State Performance Measure). HRSA believes that states are better equipped to measure and improve oral health than the federal government. This newly imposed rule may reduce the visibility of oral health, no longer presenting this issue as a national priority, which could lead to reduced funding and support. Comments on the proposed change should be received by July 5. Please submit your comments here.
Mobile Dental Tour Will Provide Free Onsite Dental Services in Pennsylvania
Highmark and United Concordia have embarked on mobile dental tours across Pennsylvania with the expectation of caring for more than 1,000 children, young adults, and senior citizens. The tours will be providing free onsite dental services, including exams, cleanings, fluoride treatments, and oral cancer screenings to underserved communities this summer. The tours use volunteer dentists and dental hygienists from United Concordia’s network to provide dental services. If care in addition to onsite services is needed, referrals will be provided. Dental services for each tour require pre-registration.
2021 Pennsylvania Dentist and Dental Hygienist Workforce Survey Report Released
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has published the final “2021 Pennsylvania’s Dentist and Dental Hygienist Workforce Survey Report” based on the State Board of Dentistry data from the 2021 licensure renewals. In 2021, 9,174 dentists renewed their license with 8,456 being employed in dentistry. Over 65% of Pennsylvania dentists identified as male and nearly 70% identified as White. There were 7,530 dental hygienists that renewed their licenses with 24% working in rural counties.
New Resource Released: Adopting Oral Health to Advance Minimally-Invasive Care
Community Catalyst released a new resource, “Adopting Oral Health Integration to Advance Minimally-Invasive Care.” The resource provides information about how minimally invasive health care can be used in conjunction with the integration of oral health care and medical care to improve oral health and overall health, as well as people’s experiences with receiving oral health care.
Click here to view the resource.
New Report Released on Dangers of Oral Health Home Remedies
The CareQuest Institute for Oral Health released a new visual report, “Dental Danger: Home Remedies to Avoid When Awaiting Care.” More than half of adults in the United States do not have consistent access to dental care and may resort to home remedies, which are not always safe. Unsafe home remedies include tobacco, pain medication prescribed for another purpose, illegal narcotics, a needle to lance a gum abscess, aspirin powder applied to the gums, and alcohol.
HRSA Comment Period: Make the Case for Oral Health
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has proposed transitioning the oral health national performance measure (NPM) to a state performance measure (SPM). Oral health has been an NPM since 1997. If oral health is transitioned to an SPM, it will no longer be a national priority, and efforts to promote oral health care at the national, state, and local levels will suffer.
Send your comments by e-mail to paperwork@hrsa.gov or by mail to Health Resources and Services Administration, Information Collection Clearance Officer, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 14N39, Rockville, MD 20857. In your communication, state that you are commenting on “Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to States Program: Guidance and Forms for the Title V Application/Annual Report, OMB No. 0915–0172—Revision.”
The deadline to submit comments is July 5th.