Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Oral health

Improving Rural Oral Healthcare Access
Policy position brief discussing the oral and systemic health connection and the dental workforce shortage. Highlights the need for interprofessional education and offers recommendations for improving access to rural oral healthcare.
Author(s): Joni Nelson, Jacob Thatcher, Joy Williams
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
view details
Using Storytelling to Address Oral Health Knowledge in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities
Results of a study conducted in 3 northern California tribal locations to evaluate an intervention using storytelling to promote prevention of early childhood tooth decay. Participants were 53 women who were pregnant or who had children ages 6 or younger.
Author(s): Brenda Heaton, Christina Gebel, Andrew Crawford, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 15
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
view details
America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2018
Provides a national and state-by-state overview of population health for older adults across 34 measures, as well as two supplemental measures new in 2018: suicide rate and risk of social isolation. Includes a special focus on persistent health disparities and challenges facing rural seniors.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: United Health Foundation
view details
The Oral Health of Montana's Kindergarten Children Compared to U.S. Kindergarten Children, 2015-2016
Describes the prevalence of tooth decay among Montana's kindergarten children, including those living in rural areas, compared to kindergarten children in the U.S. between 2005 to 2010. Includes data on the decay experience and untreated decay in Montana kindergarten children in 2015 and 2016 by rurality, race, and ethnicity.
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
view details
Health Center Dental Employment Frequently Asked Questions
Provides information on health center employment for dental health professionals considering work in this setting.
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Network for Oral Health Access
view details
Dental Therapists Linked to Improved Dental Outcomes for Alaska Native Communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
Features a study of dental outcomes in Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta since Dental Health Aide Therapists (DHATs) have been added to the communities' dental workforce. Details annual data on dental utilization for both children and adults.
Author(s): Donald L. Chi, Dane Lenaker, Lloyd Mancl, Matthew Dunbar, Michael Babb
Citation: Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 78(2), 175-182
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
view details
Minnesota Oral Health Workforce: Trends & Pipeline Incentives
Provides information on the oral health workforce and access to oral healthcare in Minnesota. Discusses dental Health Profession Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and covers a dentist to population ratio by rurality. Describes oral health trends in Minnesota.
Author(s): Nitika Moibi, Deb Jahnke
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health - Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
view details
A Healthy Smile Never Gets Old: A California Report on the Oral Health of Older Adults
Highlights oral health status and key issues among older adults living in California. Compares rates of untreated tooth decay and complete tooth loss in urban and rural areas of the state.
Author(s): Sahiti Bhaskara, Conrado E. Barzaga
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Oral Health
view details
Washington Program Trains Dental Super-Generalists to Serve Rural Communities
Features the University of Washington School of Dentistry's Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program. Describes how the program is structured to create a "super-generalist" able to meet oral health needs in rural and underserved areas. Discusses the program's success placing graduates in rural locations.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Tooth Be Told...Colorado's Basic Screening Survey - Children's Oral Health Screening: 2016-17
Presents the results from a dental screening survey of kindergarten and third grade students in Colorado during the 2016-17 school year. Students selected were a sample representative of all kindergarten and third grade students in Colorado and included students of different races and/or ethnicity, from urban and rural schools, and students eligible for the free and reduced-price lunch programs. Data compares rural and urban dental caries experience and untreated decay, and previous survey results from 2003-04.
Author(s): Renee Calanan, Gabrielle Elzinga-Marshall, Dahsan Gary, et al.
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
view details