Millions of Americans lack access to routine dental care and resort to visiting hospital emergency departments (EDs) for non-traumatic dental conditions (NTDCs). What drives those costly ED visits and who is most likely to make them? A new visual report from CareQuest Institute explores those questions within the state of Florida.
Nearly 86% of respondents said they or a member of their household have a physical or intellectual disability, according to the 2022 CareQuest Institute State of Oral Health Equity in America survey.
August 31, 2022
It all began with an audacious aim and an audacious number.
“This project started from a bold idea that we could reach millions of Americans who may not have access to a dentist by enlisting the greater health care workforce as partners in oral health,” said Shenam Ticku, BDS, MPH, instructor in Oral Health Policy and Epidemiology at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. “Our Champions can train their peers and create more advocates for oral health.”
August 9, 2022
Racism is a public health epidemic. Across the US, there are barriers to care that have blocked people of color from receiving adequate health care for years. Lack of economic opportunity, lack of access to insurance, lack of affordable care, lack of representation in the medical field, implicit bias, and stereotyping are only a few examples of barriers that we have to work to break down.
August 3, 2022
Patrick Smith, DMD, MPH, recalls the experience like it was yesterday.
Arizona offers a comprehensive Medicaid dental care benefit, including assignment to a dental home, for children under 21 whose family income falls below a certain threshold. However, the state continues to lag behind the nation when it comes to children’s oral health ― more than half (52%) of Arizona’s kindergarteners have tooth decay compared to 36% nationally.
CareQuest Institute surveys of both US consumers and health care providers reveal a stark reality that race and ethnicity are closely linked with the health of an individual’s mouth and their livelihood.
CareQuest Institute examined the experiences of individuals identifying as LGBTQ+ regarding their oral health, access to dental care, and experiences with discrimination. Key findings from our nationally representative survey focused on oral health show that LGBTQ+ individuals, when compared to non-LGBTQ+ individuals, were:
A new article in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry (JPHD) explains how the Oral Health Progress and Equity Network (OPEN) approaches systemic and institutional racism to address oral health inequities. The article is included in JPHD’s special issue about anti-racism in dental public health.