This week Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock released a legislative proposal with senators Ossoff and Baldwin to close the Medicaid coverage gap in states that have yet to adopt Medicaid expansion.

New data shows that extending comprehensive oral health coverage to all adults enrolled in Medicaid could save at least $273 million in overall health care spending.

Dental disease can affect physical and mental health and economic wellbeing and, as we see throughout all facets of our society, long-standing policies based on structural racism mean Black and brown communities experience poorer oral health as a result.

Each week it seems like there is a new study that shows the benefits of expanding Medicaid – for both health and state budgets.

A system that affords dental care as a luxury to the few while denying access to even the most basic care to the many will never lead to oral health equity.

New data add to mounting evidence that expanding access to dental coverage for people with low incomes has wide-ranging benefits.

The 117th Congress is in full swing and while all eyes have been focused on the recently enacted COVID-19 relief package, we have also seen lawmakers introduce a number of oral health related bills.

February, being both Black History Month and Children’s Dental Health Month, presents an opportunity to ensure that oral health is not forgotten among the many glaring inequities facing Black, indigenous and other communities of color in our country.

As a recent article in The New York Times highlighted, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the delivery of oral health care across the United States.

Health justice starts with the work we do with ourselves and the spaces we have access to, that we are not alone in this movement and through pushing forward, a better tomorrow becomes possible.

COVID-19 can weaken the circulatory system and cause inflammation, both of which have an effect on oral health outcomes.

Individuals covered by Medicaid may start to lose needed health services – starting with cuts to oral health care – amidst state budget shortfalls due to lack of federal COVID-19 relief. Federal lawmakers must invest in states at this critical moment.

The availability of Medicaid adult dental benefits varies by state and ranges widely from only covering emergency treatment in some states to full comprehensive care in others.

Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force Endorses Dental Therapists

As many advocates shift focus to protecting the physical, emotional, and financial health of their communities during the coronavirus pandemic, we know that the need for access to critical dental care has not gone away.

Proactive policies that improve the ACA could build on its foundation and further improve access to dental care and oral health. Instead, the Trump administration’s position in Texas v. United States would tear away important gains in oral health.

More than 750,000 people are at risk of losing critical nutrition assistance under a proposed rule from the Trump Administration that would make harmful changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

I teach an introductory dental public health course for first-year dental students. The course encourages students to use the scientific literature as the basis for developing evidence-based solutions to public health problems.

We are launching the National Partnership for Dental Therapy to make access to oral health care for all a reality.

On December 26, Michigan became the eighth state, and the second in 2018, to authorize dental therapists.

November is National Native American Heritage Month

Latinx advocates have been leaders and partners in the strong health advocacy work across the country. In Virginia, advocates played a key role in the recent Medicaid expansion victory.

Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an informational bulletin underscoring the link between oral and overall health and the importance of dental care for children with Medicaid coverage. This bulletin recognizes the pitfalls of...

Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continued the trend of approving harmful work requirements in state Medicaid programs. Arkansas joined Kentucky and Indiana and became the third state to institute a work requirement. These waivers will...

We should all be able to care for our children’s oral health regardless of our immigration status. But today, U.S. immigration policies are blocking many immigrant families from getting their children needed dental care.

Poor oral health can lead to other health problems, including cardiovascular disease, and some chronic health conditions, like diabetes, are associated with poor oral health.

This blog is part of a series that will highlight how structural racism in the health care system negatively affects the health of individuals of color. Community Catalyst is committed to exposing and dismantling policies, practices and attitudes that routinely produce cumulative...

If you arrived at an emergency room or urgent care clinic with a painful infection of your finger that is causing you to miss work and otherwise interfere with daily living – would they give you pain relievers and send you on your way?

A primary care doctor shares his insights on the connection between good oral health and overall health, and the importance of expanding the dental care team.

Dental therapists have been practicing in the U.S. for more than 10 years. They have improved access to dental care for underserved communities in Alaska since 2005 and in Minnesota since 2011.

On January 30, 26-year-old Vadim Kondratyuk of California, a father to two small children, died from a dental infection that spread to his blood and his lungs. Tragically, Vadim is not alone. Each year, millions of people go without treatment...

Chances are you know someone who has struggled to access dental care. It is a nationwide crisis that, according to the American Dental Association, is only projected to worsen. The need for accessible dental care is most urgent in rural...

On Monday, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a new law that will allow dental therapists to work in Vermont. It’s an exciting victory on a number of levels. To start, this makes Vermont the fourth state to add dental therapists...

When I accepted the first CEO position at the REACH Healthcare Foundation more than 11 years ago, I was introduced to the important distinction between philanthropy and charity

There is an oral health crisis in Indian Country and as a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, I have seen it firsthand.

Over the last few weeks, we have seen significant progress across the country for community-driven efforts to improve access to dental care by adding dental therapists to the dental team.

On February 6 in a conference room at the American Dental Association’s headquarters in Chicago, the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) voted overwhelmingly to adopt national training standards for dental therapy education programs.

Change is hard. Change takes time. Change is worth fighting for especially when it relates to improving access to oral health care.

Yesterday, Maine Governor Paul LePage signed a bill authorizing mid-level dental providers to practice in the state. Mainers, like Americans in every state, face barriers to accessing affordable dental care in their communities. The bill is a step forward to...

[]

Two factors are forcing the dental industry to re-evaluate itself. First, millions of Americans lack access to dental care. Second, the dental sector is experiencing a slowdown in spending and predicting sluggish growth for decades to come.

Rowena Ventura, director of We Are the Uninsured in Cleveland, knows firsthand the horrific effects that the lack of affordable dental care can have.

I always tell my kids, don’t forget to brush your teeth! As we gear up for open enrollment in October, that phrase takes on a whole new meaning: Don’t forget to buy your pediatric coverage.

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the final rule for Essential Health Benefits, Actuarial Value, and Accreditation. This anticipated rule was largely unchanged from its original form.

Yesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) announced they are filing legislation to address a national crisis in dental care. The legislation would expand comprehensive dental coverage to millions of Americans through M

Often overlooked, untreated tooth decay and poor oral health have become an epidemic in the United States. In fact, tooth decay is the most common childhood disease, five times more common than asthma. On March 6th, The New York Times reported that an ala

After a decade of reports and tragedy a lot of progress must be made to improve our oral health A decade ago, the Surgeon General released a report on oral health that described unmet oral health needs as a “silent epidemic”. Five years ago, a 12 year old

Late last month as snow enveloped Olympia, Washington, state advocates braved the elements for hearings on two very important yet different issues - improving access to dental care and reproductive rights and contraception coverage. At one point a veteran

This week, PBS’ NewsHour highlighted that millions of Americans go without dental care and also profiled how alternative dental providers, known as dental therapists, have improved access to care in Alaska and have the potential to do the same in the lowe

Oral health advocates are trained to reinforce that oral health is essential to overall health. The good news is that a poll released today by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (conducted by Lake Research) found that 79 percent of survey respondents say that

In one of the most memorable scenes in Cast Away, Tom Hanks, who is stranded on a deserted island and has a toothache, gruesomely removes his tooth with a figure skate because he can no longer live with the pain. Even though they are not stranded on a des

In late August, I found myself in a small conference room in a sub-regional clinic (SRC) in St. Mary’s, Alaska, a village of 549 Yup’ik residents, listening to Bernadette Charles describe how she is working to meet the village’s oral health needs. Not onl

Last week, the New York Times reported on the dire need to improve health care on Native American Tribal Lands. Unfortunately, one of the major components of overall health and the health care system was overlooked as part of the article – oral health and