Blog

By Katie D’Amico, MBA, Vice President Growth & Innovation, CareQuest Innovation Partners and Azeem Mallick, MBA, Vice President, Enterprise Strategic Partners, CareQuest Institute“We leave dental out all the time. It makes no sense.” 

By Renee Clark, Care Coordinator & Interoperability Manager The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have made it clear that patients must be at the center of our digital ecosystem and are asking one critical question: How should federal policy evolve to support more connected, patient-centered care? 

OPEN Hill Day brought more than 90 members from across the US to Capitol Hill to meet with legislators about prioritizing oral health in their communities. For this Hill Day on May 14, the fourth one since 2019, there was more at stake: Potential Medicaid cuts are on the horizon, some policymakers are pushing to remove fluoride from public water supplies, and recent staff cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services are reshaping the oral health landscape. 

Caroline Le, Public Policy Analyst, CareQuest Institute An issue historically left to local governments is now drawing attention from some state and federal leaders — and the outcome could affect our health for generations. 

Early in her career as a dental assistant, Mary Lynne Davis, CRDH, had the privilege of working with a dentist who was deeply committed to creating a comfortable, caring experience for every patient. His passion left a lasting impression on her, shaping the way she approached patient care throughout her career as an assistant, a hygienist, a mentor, and now a research coordinator. 

It’s a nationwide problem for our nation’s heroes: Veterans struggle to get access to oral health care. For a veteran to get dental benefits from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), they need to have been a former prisoner of war, be 100% disabled, or have a service-related dental injury.

By Beverly Bruno, MPH, Health Informatics Developer, CareQuest InstituteWhat makes a story stick isn’t always the plot — it’s the way it unfolds. At the 2025 Tableau Conference, where data accessibility and creativity led every conversation, it became clear: dashboards and data sets can be more than static displays. They can be dynamic stories, each with its own rhythm, architecture, and power to connect. 

Uncertainty? Yes, plenty of that. Apprehension? A bit. Anxiety? There was some of that too. None of those words, though, sum up the mood, feeling, and spirit of the 2025 National Oral Health Conference (NOHC). The word that does? Resilience. 

For Jessica Robertson, DMD, relocating from Southern California to rural Arizona has taken some adjusting. “Moving to a small town was quite different,” she says, “not having a mall just around the corner or the amusement park an hour away.” Some of the clinics where she provides care are even farther. 

Leaning the chair back. The sounds of dental instruments. Closing the door to the room. These may seem like normal experiences at a dental office, but for some patients who have experienced trauma, they can trigger stress and anxiety. And if those triggers are ignored by the dental team, the patient could be retraumatized.