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Headline News
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy delivers a statement on community water fluoridation.
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National Children's Dental Health Month
February 1, 2016,
Campaign for Dental Health
Hollis Russinof, MUPP, Program Manager
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry are among many national leaders who you will see promoting messages on social media, making this an important month for you to be active on your social media accounts. The Campaign invites you to retweet what you see on ILikeMyTeeth and share/like what we post on Facebook. Here is a social media kit with easy-to-use Tweets created by the Children’s Dental Health Project and the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors that you can share or adapt for your purposes and audiences.
Having a strong presence on social media is particularly important this week because, as many of you know, environmental activist Erin Brockovich appeared on the Dr. Oz show today, decrying fluoride. We feel the best response is to blanket social media with positive messages about the safety, effectiveness, and equity of community water fluoridation.
Thanks for your help in promoting positive messages!
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UT Health Science Center San Antonio Receives Grant from Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to Develop Statewide Oral Health Data Repository
The Texas Oral Health Metrics Workgroup is compiling a list of the data that is collected by oral health programs across the State of Texas. In order to better understand the current capacity, they have created a short, five-minute survey asking questions about the types of oral health services your program provides and the information you might collect when providing those services. The goal of this survey is to identify the scope of the data that is collected by oral health programs in Texas and the dental services that are provided to any age or population.
To access this survey, please click on the link below. If you have any questions, please contact David Cappelli, DMD, MPH, PhD, Professor and Director, Research Division and Director, Dental Public Health Residency Program Department of Comprehensive Dentistry.
Please share this survey with oral health program directors, organizations, leaders, and advocates who provide any type of oral health service in Texas.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WG2RHLB
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ASTDD Releases Reports on Non-Traumatic Dental Care in Emergency Departments
Emergency departments (EDs) play a vital role in the health care system as they are accessible to all individuals irrespective of their ability to pay for care and are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The use of EDs for dental-related conditions, especially non-traumatic dental conditions (NTDCs), is a growing dental public health concern. The ASTDD Best Practices project selected five best practice criteria to guide state and community oral health programs in developing their best practices. These reported successful programs should be viewed in the context of the community environment, infrastructure, resources, workforce compositions and state dental Medicaid coverage.
-- Release per the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors
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New CHCS Issue Brief Identifies Areas of Need and Promising Practices for Improving Oral Health Care Access and Outcomes
Guiding Innovations to Improve the Oral Health of Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries
Limited access to oral health care among low-income populations leads to disproportionate rates of oral disease and associated chronic conditions. As the Medicaid population expands through the Affordable Care Act, state Medicaid agencies, health plans, and other stakeholders have the opportunity to enact innovative solutions to address this pervasive issue.
This brief draws on a survey and small group consultation with Medicaid oral health stakeholders and thought-leaders who identified areas of need and promising practices for improving oral health access and outcomes. The Center for Health Care Strategies, through support from the DentaQuest Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, identified five areas ripe for innovation, which are outlined in this brief. It can inform stakeholder efforts to improve the oral health of low-income adults by providing new ways to approach delivery system challenges.
Read the brief here.
-- Release per the Center for Health Care Strategies
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Missouri to Expand Adult Dental Benefits in 2016
On January 5, 2016, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced that $35 million collected from delinquent taxpayers would be used for an expansion of dental coverage for 282,000 low-income Missourians. Medicaid adult dental benefits were cut in 2005. In the ensuing years, Missouri experienced an increased use of emergency departments to address untreated dental conditions.
Currently, coverage of dental services for adults in Missouri is limited to trauma of the mouth, jaw, or teeth as a result of injury or medical condition. Soon, the Missouri Department of Social Services will submit a state plan amendment to CMS to expand this coverage to include preventive services, restorative services, periodontal treatment, oral surgery, extractions, radiographs, pain evaluation and relief, infection control, and general anesthesia. Returning adult dental benefits will save the state money allowing Medicaid recipients routine oral health services that should see a reduction of emergency room use for dental conditions.
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TxOHC is pleased to add a new tangible benefit for all coalition members.
We are excited to announce that TxOHC has entered into a Collaborative Stakeholder Initiative with Midwest Dental. TxOHC members will receive substantial price discounts on merchandise, capital equipment and laboratory services.
For each merchandise or equipment order placed with Midwest Dental in excess of $500, your name will be added to a drawing for a free TPC Portable Unit to be given away during the 2016 Oral Health Summit.
Learn more about this exciting opportunity here. |
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Special Thanks To
Platinum Sponsor
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