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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Oral health

Access to Dental Care Remains a Challenge for Millions of Michiganders
Report reevaluates a study on oral healthcare access in Michigan. Breaks down key takeaways from the study, such as rates of Medicaid enrolled dentists, access for low-income populations, and dentist distribution.
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pew Charitable Trusts
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Lessons Learned: A Rural Case Study - Challenges Increasing Access to Dental Care Among Rural Veterans
Details the referral process initiated by the Grand Island Dental Outpatient Team in Nebraska for rural veterans who are ineligible for VA dental coverage to receive basic treatment from community dentists. Discusses some of the challenges to designing and implementing the program, such as establishing new partnerships with local dentists, adhering to a sustainable staffing plan, and pursuing data collection and analysis for measuring outcomes, among other factors.
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
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MORE Care: Narrowing the Rural Interprofessional Oral Health Care Gap
Presents an integrated healthcare model that connects oral health to primary care Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Discusses challenges and strategies in implementing oral health interprofessional practice (IPP), such as developing dental referral networks and ensuring access to health information technology, among others. Details the collaboration between the State Offices of Rural Health in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Colorado with the DentaQuest Institute and the Medical University of South Carolina.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Sean G. Boynes, Lisa Davis, Graham Adams, Michelle Mills, Mark Deutchman
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: DentaQuest Institute
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The Oral Health of Montana's Head Start Children, 2016
Describes the prevalence of tooth decay among Montana children aged three to five years enrolled in Head Start compared to children aged three to five years in the general U.S. population from 2015 to 2016. Includes data on decay experience and untreated decay for Montana Head Start children aged three to five years from 2015 to 2016 by gender, race and ethnicity, and rurality.
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
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The Oral Health of American Indian and Alaska Native Children Aged 6-9 Years: Results of the 2016-2017 IHS Oral Health Survey
Provides an overview of the oral health status of American Indian and Alaska Native children in kindergarten through third grad using data from the 2016-2017 Indian Health Service (IHS) oral health surveillance survey.
Author(s): Kathy R. Phipps, Timothy L. Ricks
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Indian Health Service
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Oral Health and Medical Conditions among Amish Children
Study of oral health among Amish children in Geauga County, Ohio. Data taken from a questionnaire completed by parents whose children received care at a mobile dental unit. Discusses oral health in relation to other health disparities for Amish children, including bleeding disorder and asthma.
Author(s): Masahiro Heima, Marc-Allen Harrison, Peter Milgrom
Citation: Journal of Clinical and Experimental Dentistry, 9(3), e338-e343
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
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Community Health Workers Get Trained to Reduce Oral Health Disparities
Highlights programs serving the Navajo Nation, Texas colonias, and Appalachian Maryland that use community health workers to provide oral health education and improve access dental care.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Dental Therapy Toolkit: A Resource for Potential Employers
Toolkit designed to provide prospective employers of dental therapists a history and understanding of the field and offer information on how to integrate dental therapists into their practices in the state of Minnesota. Includes regulations and scope of practice details, education and training requirements, and examples of successful dental therapy models, among other topics.
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Health Reform Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Health - Office of Rural Health and Primary Care, Minnesota Department of Human Services
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Neglected for Too Long: Dental Care for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Policy brief describing scarcity of dental care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, due to a shortage of properly trained dental care providers and exceptionally long distances many patients must travel to receive adequate care.
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Council on Disability
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Utah's Dentist Workforce, 2017: A Study on the Supply and Distribution of Dentists in Utah
Analyzes the dental workforce in Utah to assess supply and demand in urban and rural areas. Includes statistics, such as licensed dentists practicing status and demographic characteristics of dentists and patients. Covers dental practice characteristics, such as specialty, practice setting, geographic distribution, practice hours, and accessibility.
Author(s): Jenna Christensen
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Utah Health Workforce Information Center
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