Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Oral health

Water Fluoridation in the U.S.: The Federal Role in Policy and Practice
Examines water fluoridation across the United States, with a focus on policy, best practices, dental health impacts, and state-by-state percentages of people using community water systems (CWS) that receive fluoridated water. Discusses water fluoridation barriers in rural and small communities.
Author(s): Josh Michaud, Jennifer Kates, Nambi Ndugga
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
view details
Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule
Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule regarding updates and changes to the Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and other Medicare Part B issues for calendar year 2025. Summarizes provisions related to telehealth services; advanced primary care management services; behavioral health services; opioid treatment programs; dental and oral health services; Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) care coordination services, telecommunication services, intensive outpatient program (IOP) services, and payment for vaccine costs; and more.
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
Resources for Dental Care Workforce in Health Centers
Discusses access to oral health in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and disparities experienced by underserved populations in rural and low-income communities. Provides examples and strategies from communities to effectively train, secure, and maximize the oral health workforce.
Additional links: 11 Shining Star Case Examples, State Policies & Strategies Brief Table, State Policies & Strategies Brief: Strengthen and Expand the Dental Workforce in Health Centers, State Policies & Strategies Guide: Strengthen and Expand The Dental Workforce In Health Centers
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
view details
Consumer Survey: Barriers to Accessing Oral Health Services in New York State
Examines major access barriers to oral health services for adults in New York. Provides evidence-based insights for policymakers and stakeholders to develop strategies to reduce oral health disparities and improve access to care, especially for underserved populations. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban or rural locations.
Author(s): Simona Surdu, Nozomi Sasaki, Jinman Pang, Jean Moore
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
view details
Rural–Urban Differences in Dental Opioid Prescribing among Adolescent/Young Adult and Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries
Examines dental opioid prescription rates for adolescents and adults in rural and urban communities, utilizing 2021 Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System Analytic Files data. Breaks down data by race and ethnicity, neighborhood disadvantage, and other demographic factors. Includes color-coded maps showing ranges of prescribing rates in rural and urban areas by state.
Author(s): Carla Shoff, Alex Sheen, Luping Qu, Natalia I. Chalmers
Citation: Frontiers in Public Health, 12
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
view details
Health Professional Shortage Areas: Dental Care
Printable map that shows nonmetropolitan and micropolitan dental care HPSAs on one color scale and metropolitan dental care HPSAs on another. Data source: data.HRSA.gov
Date: 10/2024
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Oregon Areas of Unmet Health Care Need Report, 2024
Covers nine variables that describe areas of unmet healthcare need in Oregon and measure access to primary care, mental, and oral healthcare services. Areas of unmet need are scored based on variables within the following categories: availability of providers, ability to afford care, and utilization. Includes statistics and county-level information by service areas.
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Oregon Office of Rural Health
view details
Training a Rural Oral Health Workforce: Effects of Rural Background on Dentist Practice Choice
Assesses outcomes from 2012-2021 of the Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program, an educational track of the University of Washington School of Dentistry that aims to produce graduates who practice in rural areas of the Pacific Northwest. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by rural or nonrural upbringing.
Author(s): Anna R. Forsyth, Arsen A. Melkonyan, Kristopher Kerns, et al.
Citation: Journal of Dental Education, 1-9
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
view details
Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry (ACTPCMD) Meeting Minutes, August 1-2, 2024
Summarizes the Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry (ACTPCMD) meeting held on August 1-2, 2024. Features updates from the Bureau of Health Workforce on programs to address healthcare workforce shortages, presentations and discussions on Title VII Sections 747 and 748 grant programs, and a presentation on the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program, among other things.
Additional links: Presentations
Date: 08/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry
view details
MN Health Professional Shortage Areas: Dental Geographic & Low Income Designations
Provides a Minnesota state map and county list of low-income and geographic dental Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs).
Date: 08/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health
view details