In California, Lower State Dental Benefits Create Dire Situation for Patients September 12, 2011
Posted by cshannon in Dental Public Health.Tags: access to care, dental insurance, health disparities, Medicaid, underserved populations
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From the Los Angeles Times (via Kaiser Health News), comes a story of what has happened in the 2 years since California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, cut dental benefits for recipients.
“Patients wait until infections become so severe they must visit emergency rooms or their rotted teeth must be pulled. . . . They aren’t coming until the mouth is completely swelled up or the pain cannot be tolerated,” according to Dr. Nagaraj Murthy, a dentist in Compton, California.
“Dental care is the oft-ignored cousin of medical care, experts say. Because dental coverage is an optional benefit under the federal Medicaid program for the nation’s poor, several states don’t offer it. Others, like California, have slashed the benefit in recent years, meaning millions nationwide are going without treatment and facing heightened risks of serious and costly health problems like respiratory infections and heart disease.”
“One-third of Americans reported skipping dental checkups and care because of the cost, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released in April. And a report by the national Institute of Medicine in July said “persistent, systemic” barriers, including lack of insurance and a shortage of dentists, are increasingly limiting people’s access to dental care and exacerbating socioeconomic disparities in public health.”
Read the complete story here.
In One of the Most Prosperous Areas of the Nation, Lower-income Residents Struggle to Get Dental Care September 8, 2011
Posted by cshannon in Dental Public Health.Tags: access to care, dental insurance, health disparities, healthcare quality
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From Kaiser Health News is a story in the Washington Post on the results of a report on health disparities in northern Virginia. Key findings from the study, conducted by the Northern Virginia Health Foundation:
- 16 percent of lower-income adults have not gone to a dentist in more than five years.
- Among lower-income adults who have health coverage, only one-fourth have coverage that includes dental care, compared to 64 percent for higher-income adults.
Read the complete story here.
New from AJPH: “State Policies Targeting Junk Food in Schools: Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Effect of Policy Change on Soda Consumption” August 18, 2011
Posted by cshannon in Dental Public Health.Tags: junk food, law, state policies
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In the September edition of the American Journal of Public Health is an article on a study looking at the effect of changes in state policies on junk food on soda consumption by teenagers. The effect appears to be weak.
New from AJPH: Insurance Barriers to Accessing Dental Care in Harlem July 13, 2011
Posted by cshannon in Dental Public Health.Tags: access to care, dental insurance, health disparities, underserved populations
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In the August edition of the American Journal of Public Health, “Insurance-Related Barriers to Accessing Dental Care Among African American Adults With Oral Health Symptoms in Harlem, New York City”, describes the results of interviews with a African American adults in Harlem, New York City, with recent oral health symptoms and suggests ways to remove barriers to dental care.
New from AJPH: Using Electronic Technologies to Connect People to Health Care July 5, 2011
Posted by cshannon in Dental Public Health.Tags: collaboration, health care techology, health disparities, underserved populations
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“Use of Electronic Technologies to Promote Community and Personal Health for Individuals Unconnected to Health Care Systems” in the July issue of the American Journal of Public Health describes ways to try to engage those who aren’t connected with the health care system and provides examples of successful programs.
New from the American Journal of Public Health April 21, 2011
Posted by cshannon in Dental Public Health.Tags: Medicaid, pediatric dentistry
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In the May issue of AJPH is an article that investigates the relationship between having a first dental visit and having an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD). The authors discovered that children aged 3 to 8 years with IDD who were newly enrolled in Medicaid in Iowa were significantly more likely to have a later first dental visit.
“Give Kids a Smile” at UM Dental School April 18, 2011
Posted by marvelwoman in Consumer Health, Dental Public Health, Local Resources.Tags: children, dental school, free program
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Ann Arbor, MI — February 14, 2011 — Dental students and other volunteers who participated in the annual Give Kids a Smile program at the U-M School of Dentistry on Feb. 5 said they enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to give back to the community. The event at the School was sponsored by a student volunteer group, the Jonathan Taft Society, and the Washtenaw District Dental Society. Give Kids a Smile was started by the American Dental Association in 2002.
More than 90 volunteers from the School, including dental and dental hygiene students, clinical faculty, and residents participated in providing oral exams and cleanings to children between the ages of 5 and 12. Joining them were staff from the dental school who provided behind the scenes support along with oral health care professionals from the Washtenaw District Dental Society and the Michigan Dental Association.
Forty-seven youngsters from Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and surrounding communities received free dental screenings and cleanings. Thirty-five children who were examined also received restorative work.
article at: http://www.dent.umich.edu/news/2011/february/students-volunteers-laud-give-kids-smile
IOM–Advancing Oral Health in America April 15, 2011
Posted by cshannon in Dental Public Health.Tags: DHHS, NOHI
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The Insitute of Medicine released a new report April 8. The report describes it’s recent recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services to improve oral health and for priority areas for the New Oral Health Initiative (NOHI; you can find the new organizing principles for this initiative on page 2 of the Report Brief).
Read the Report Brief here or read the whole report online here.
New from the American Journal of Public Health April 5, 2011
Posted by cshannon in Dental Public Health, General, News and Announcements.Tags: health disparities
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In “The Influence of Family Income Trajectories From Birth to Adulthood on Adult Oral Health: Findings From the 1982 Pelotas Birth Cohort”, researchers found that poverty at birth and during a person’s life led to increased numbers of unsound teeth for adults.
AHRQ Innovation Exchange February 15, 2011
Posted by cshannon in Dental Public Health, Education.Tags: healthcare quality
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Did you know that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has an Innovations Exchange? It’s a place for you to find solutions to problems, to help improve healthcare quality, & to reduce healthcare disparities. You can find evidence-based innovations and QualityTools, which are updated biweekly.
