Promising Opportunities to Support Veteran Oral Health

Roughly 19 million veterans live in the US, comprising about 6% of the total population. Those veterans are more likely to experience worse oral health outcomes — higher rates of tooth decay, higher rates of gum disease, and an increased need for restorative dental care — compared to nonveterans.

A new white paper from CareQuest Institute and the American Institute of Dental Public Health (AIDPH) aims to shine a light on the social, structural, and individual drivers of these outcomes.

Here is a short excerpt from the paper:

Most veterans place a significant value on oral health, recognizing the benefits of improved dental insurance coverage and access to care currently not offered through VA guidelines. Organizations, including FQHCs and local providers, are stepping in to meet veterans’ oral health care needs, but many veterans still experience poor oral health and unmet dental needs. Advocates like the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) have urged Congress to pass policy measures that expand access to oral health care for veterans.

Recently, the VFW asserted, “Providing essential dental care services as a preventative health measure enhances veterans’ overall well-being by reducing the risk of oral and periodontal diseases, which then reduces or prevents the cost of treating veterans with these illnesses. Good oral hygiene increases a veteran’s self-esteem, which is a factor that can affect everything from mental health to employment.”

Veterans, like all Americans, experience a siloed system of care that does not effectively consider oral health in the context of overall health or socioeconomic and environmental factors. Recognizing opportunities to improve veteran health, the VA announced a partnership with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to stimulate integration and person-centered care for the veteran community. The resulting committee is charged with identifying promising new research-driven health care delivery models for veterans. While oral health is not currently represented in the focus areas, the opportunity remains to integrate it into this initiative.

VETSmile is a new pilot program from the VA Center for Care and Payment Innovation (CCPI). VETSmile aims to improve access to dental care for veterans by establishing a network of community dental care providers (DCPs) that provide a dental home for veterans pro bono or at a discounted rate. The program launched July 2021 with partners from the New York University College of Dentistry in New York, NY, Zufall Health Center, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, and CompleteCare Health Network in New Jersey. VETSmile expects to serve 3,900 veterans through 9,000 patient visits in the first year of implementation.

After the initial launch, the number of veterans served overall is expected to increase as CCPI builds partnerships with additional dental care providers across the nation. CCPI’s strategic partnerships with the American Dental Association, the National Association of Community Health Centers, and VA Dentistry support the development and success of this pilot. While longitudinal outcomes of the program are still pending, this promising approach to public-private partnerships can be potentially scaled to address the structural oral health care needs of veterans throughout the US. 

Editor’s Note: Explore the full white paper that seeks to catalyze oral health professionals and policymakers toward advancing health equity for veterans.