Researchers on Stage at the 2022 National Oral Health Conference

Medical-dental integration. Dental anxiety. Value-based care. Periodontal therapy.

These are just a few of the topics researchers at the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health presented at the National Oral Health Conference (NOHC) last month in Fort Worth, Texas. The annual multi-day conference offers educational sessions and presentations by leaders in dental public health for anyone interested in improving the overall oral health system.

Here are a few highlights and key takeaways from four CareQuest Institute presentations:

1. Oral Health Integration: Attitudes on Medical-Dental Collaboration

Medical-dental integration encourages providers to create comprehensive care plans for the whole person. CareQuest Institute Research Analyst Adrianna Sonnek further explained medical-dental integration through the lens of our State of Oral Health Equity in America survey. The nationally representative, probability-based survey of adult consumer attitudes, experiences, and behaviors on oral health sheds light on the inextricable link between oral health and overall health.

Sonnek shared several results about the connections between oral health and overall health:

• 96% of consumers acknowledged the connection between the health of the mouth and that of the rest of the body. 
• 45% of responding oral health providers reported “rarely” integrating care with clinicians outside of dentistry.
• More than 90% of oral health providers surveyed agree that dietary habits should be assessed in all patients.

2. Diabetes Treatment Costs Decrease after Periodontal Therapy: Medicaid and Commercial Claims Data

A healthy mouth is vital to a diabetes management program. During this poster presentation, CareQuest Institute Research and Analytics Manager Madhuli Thakkar-Samtani shared data from a recent study examining the relationship between periodontal treatment and diabetic medical costs in both commercial and Medicaid claims data.

Principal findings included the following:

• Receiving periodontal therapy reduced overall health care costs for patients with diabetes in both Medicaid and commercial claims data.
• Expanding programs that provide health care coverage to those with lower socioeconomic status, such as Medicaid and Medicare, to include comprehensive periodontal treatment has the potential to reduce overall health care costs for individuals with diabetes.

3. Interpretation of Ambiguous Dental Scenarios by Severity of Dental Anxiety

Dental anxiety poses a significant barrier to adequate oral health care for 5–15% of adults, explained CareQuest Institute Science Writer Lisa Heaton in a presentation on dental anxiety. Heaton provided results from a recent study analyzing how dentally anxious individuals compare to those with lower dental anxiety when interpreting ambiguous dental scenarios.

The study concluded:

• Dentally anxious respondents used words related to anxiety as a greater proportion of their overall words.
• Less anxious individuals more often describe concerns about the cost of treatment.
• While dentally anxious individuals were more likely to use terms like “worried” and “scared,” less anxious individuals were more likely to use words like “cost” and “money.”

4. Exploring Connections to Value-Based Care in Dental Education

Although value-based care remains a new topic area for schools of dentistry, the opportunity to shift the mindset of new clinicians toward new approaches and embrace them is promising. During a poster presentation, CareQuest Institute Value-Based Care Director Rebekah Mathews shared results from a study examining the results of a survey disseminated to clinical deans at dental schools evaluating current value-based care approaches and designs. The study found

• 65% of respondents acknowledged value-based care was not currently included in didactic curriculum.
• Almost 25% of schools are considering value-based care within their dental clinics.
• While VBC is not yet broadly adopted within dental schools, many acknowledge the opportunity to align with VBC concepts when considering patient care and student experience.