In the News

In January 2021 Health Forward Foundation awarded $75,000 in funding to support Oral Health Kansas’s (OHK’s) ongoing efforts to advocate for “comprehensive Medicaid adult dental benefits” in Kansas, Tanya Dorf Brunner, OHK’s executive director, told Health Affairs. Access to dental care has increased somewhat in recent years through managed care organizations participating in KanCare (Kansas Medicaid), “but consistent and comprehensive dental coverage remains elusive for Kansas adults living in poverty.” This grant covers “strengthening relationships with l

"The National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s toolkit highlights that oral health is vital to mental health," said Sean Boynes, DMD, vice president of health improvement at the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health and a participant in the development of the toolkit. "I was proud to work on this toolkit because I believe the connection between oral disease and mental health is critical to helping dentists and oral health professionals provide holistic care."

“The National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s toolkit highlights that oral health is vital to mental health,” said Sean Boynes, D.M.D., vice president of health improvement at the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health and participant in the development of the toolkit. “I was proud to work on this toolkit because I believe the connection between oral disease and mental health is critical to helping dentists and oral health professionals provide holistic care.”

Like many other areas of health care, dental anesthesiology is wrapped up in a changing and increasingly challenging environment.  Consider these:

They run health care companies, universities and colleges, financial institutions, nonprofits, construction heavyweights, and more — they’re the women power players of the Bay State. Meet them in the 2021 installment of this list, a joint project of The Commonwealth Institute and the Globe Magazine. Responsible for thousands of employees and billions in revenue, the women featured here drive the Massachusetts economy. CareQuest Institute, led by President and CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, ranked fifth out of 100 women-led businesses in Massachusetts.

This week, Matt discusses the importance of including an oral health benefit in Medicare and what ADHA is doing to help make it happen. Joining the conversation, Matt’s esteemed guests include Vice President for Grant Making at Care Quest institute, Dr. Michael Monopoli, DMD, MPH, MS, FACD; Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships at Families USA, Melissa Burroughs and Senior Attorney with the Center for Medicare Advocacy, Wey-Wey Kwok. Don’t miss this pivotal panel discussion about this monumental opportunity and what you can do to help.

Watch the full video featuring Sean Boynes, CareQuest Institute vice president of health improvement here.

Strengthening Medicare by adding dental benefits could help more than 4.5 million people in California; the largest number of Medicare beneficiaries of any state A 72-year-old woman went in for surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2019. The last thing she remembers before her surgery was a doctor putting her to sleep. When she awoke, she was missing her dentures, her glasses, and had no memory of how she got home. Read the full article

...Dr. Pituch is now the chief of oral and maxillofacial surgery at UPMC Mercy and UPMC Shadyside. He’s also the co-founder of Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh free dental clinic — a two-day clinic that provides free dental care to Pittsburgh-area residents...

Visual impairments and systemic causes of eye problems, including diabetes and heart disease, have been associated with a decline in oral health, according to a report released by the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. Clinicians should be aware of these connections and use the data to educate, diagnose, and treat high-risk patients, according to CareQuest. "Dental providers can serve as a resource to diagnose oral diseases that may be associated with eye problems," the visual report states.