- Biden-Harris Administration Releases National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and First-Ever Federal Action Plan
- Biden-Harris Administration Takes Historic Action to Increase Access to Quality Care, and Support to Families and Care Workers
- Biden Administration Sets Higher Staffing Mandates. Most Nursing Homes Don't Meet Them.
- Rural Jails Turn to Community Health Workers To Help the Newly Released Succeed
- Rural Communities Face Primary Care Physician Shortage
- 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
Study Links Periodontal Treatment to Lower Health Care Costs
A study published the Journal of the American Dental Association showed a link between periodontal treatment and lower health care costs for people with diabetes. The study also found that periodontal treatment was associated with reduced outpatient costs among people with commercial insurance or Medicaid.
“Brush, Book, Bed” Materials Offered in More Languages
The American Academy of Pediatrics updated their parent materials for the “Brush, Book, Bed” program. The program focuses on three key messages for parents: help your children brush their teeth, read a favorite book, and get to bed at a regular time each night. The program aims to improve oral health services in the medical home by linking oral health information with messages about early literacy, sleep, and establishing a regular nighttime routine. Materials are now available in English, Spanish, Cambodian,
French, Korean, Russian, and Taiwanese.
New Oral Health Resources Released on Antibiotic Use in Dental Care
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Dental Association (ADA), and the Organization for Safety, Asepsis, and Prevention (OSAP) published free printed materials and resources to improve antibiotic use in dental care. Dentists prescribe around 10% of overall outpatient antibiotic prescriptions nationally. Improving antibiotic use will keep patients healthy, help prevent side effects, and fight antimicrobial resistance. The new resources include a fact sheet on dental pain and swelling, on-demand recordings from the Antibiotic Stewardship Summit, a brochure about antibiotic use for a safe dental visit, and an antibiotic stewardship toolkit for dental providers.
Click here to download the fact sheet.
Click here to view the recordings.
Click here to download the brochure.
Click here to download the toolkit.
National Community Health Center Workforce Survey Results Released
The National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) published the results and analysis of their 2021 Community Health Center Workforce Survey. The purpose of the survey was to provide information and analysis on dental team member salaries, satisfaction, and recruitment and retention strategies in health centers throughout the country.
Stories Needed for the Pennsylvania Dental Story Bank!
Have you struggled to get a dental appointment for yourself or a child? Did you visit the emergency room or urgent care for a dental problem in the last year? Has it been difficult to find a dentist that takes your insurance? PA Coalition for Oral Health (PCOH) is collecting stories from all 67 counties around dental issues in our state. Your story can help us let decision-makers know that change is needed to protect the smiles of all Pennsylvanians. We will share these stories to push for changes to the current system.
Submit your story by April 4th for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card!
Pennsylvania State Board of Dentistry Releases Regulation Updates
The Pennsylvana State Board of Dentistry is soliciting comments for two draft regulation updates. Comments can be emailed to RA-STRegulatoryCounsel@pa.gov no later than April 28th. The first is a draft annex relating to the administration of anesthesia and would establish requirements for a nitrous oxide/oxygen inhalation analgesia monitoring permit for dental hygienists. The second is a general update of the Board’s regulations relating to examinations, licensure, biennial renewal, inactive status, reactivation, EFDA program approval, titles, fictitious names, advertising specialties, unprofessional conduct, multidisciplinary professional practice, radiological procedures and continuing education.
Click here for the anesthesia update.
Click here for the general update.
New Report Reveals Dental Insurance Dropouts
New monthly data from the American Dental Association (ADA) Health Policy Institute (HPI) reveal new insights into the status of practice participation in dental insurance networks. The data show that about 1 in 6 dental practices have dropped out of some insurance networks since January 2023. The February 2023 poll also revealed that one-third of dentists continue to report they are actively recruiting dental hygienists and dental assistants.
Just Launched: An Introduction to Value-Based Care in Oral Health
The CareQuest Institute for Oral Health is offering a new self-paced online course, “An Introduction to Value-Based Care in Oral Health: Moving from Volume to Value.” The one-hour course identifies how value-based care in oral health can improve patients’ health outcomes while benefiting providers and payors. It offers 1 CE credit and includes a collection of resources and references to learn more about the topic.
New Study Released: Silver Diamine Fluoride Effectiveness
A study of almost 3,000 children found silver diamine fluoride may be as effective as dental sealants for caries prevention. The study was reported in JAMA Network Open. The objective was to determine the noninferiority of silver diamine fluoride with fluoride varnish versus traditional glass ionomer sealants with fluoride varnish after two years when provided to children via a school-based health care program.
Pennsylvania Dentists Discuss Oral Health During Children’s Dental Health Month
From WITF, On the Spark
According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 1 in 5 children between the ages of 5 and 11 have at least one untreated decaying tooth and children between the ages of 5 and 19 are twice as likely to have cavities if they come from low-income households.
According to the University of Illinois College of Dentistry, there is a connection between oral health and a person’s overall health and well-being.
February is Children’s Dental Health Month and Dr. LaJuan Mountain, vice president of dental services at Family First Health, and Dr. Sam Mansour, Pennsylvania Dental Association’s statewide national children’s dental health month chair, joined us on The Spark Thursday to discuss the importance of children’s dental health, the barriers to receiving dental care and ways to overcome them.
Dr. Mountain said, a healthy mouth consists of firm and pink gums and no disruptions or discoloration in the enamel. She also said, oral health is not the general consensus that she is seeing in our communities because of a lack of accessibility, high costs, insurance challenges, dentist office schedules, a lack of oral health literacy and more.
On The Spark we also discussed the Family First Health’s Mobile School Dentist program that provides in-school dental care for all ages and grade levels in York, Adams and Lancaster County.
“It’s having a tremendous impact. I’ve been doing this program for almost a decade and I’m actually seeing kids that I first started to treat in Head Start, and they’re now in junior high. So that means we’ve actually followed kids throughout their entire academic life thus far, and we’re seeing improvement,” Dr. Mountain said. “…We’re exposing them to the importance of their oral health, but also opportunities in health care, especially because the individuals we’re interacting with are often in that low socioeconomic environment.”