This study evaluates MORE Care™, a Medical-Dental Integration (MDI) model, and its implementation in Ohio, where a two-year pilot engaged nearly 20,000 children across six counties.
The program integrated oral health assessments, fluoride varnish, and referral systems into private medical practices, supported by a performance-based payment model. The authors report increases in preventive oral health services and referrals, pointing to the model’s adaptability beyond rural settings and its potential to support whole-person care—while also showing how health IT and data-sharing challenges can limit coordination and tracking.
The authors write:
Despite the established connections between oral and systemic health, oral health is often siloed from other healthcare services with little to no communication or coordination.”
Read the article in Frontiers in Public Health (open access).
You may also be interested in:
- From Silos to Synergy: Integrating Oral Health into Whole-Person Care Through Interprofessional Practice, a white paper that explores interprofessional practice as a strategy to enhance patient outcomes, strengthen chronic disease management, and advance public health.
- Oral-Systemic Interactions and Medical-Dental Integration: A Life Course Approach, a report and infographic providing an overview of the connection between oral health and overall health across the lifespan.
- Partners in Progress: Pursuing Medical-Dental Integration in Ohio, an impact report and case study exploring results from a pilot program to integrate oral health into pediatric primary care.