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Rural Health Information Hub

Oral Health in Rural Communities – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Oral Health in Rural Communities.

Implementation Outcomes From a Pilot Study of Training Probation Officers to Deliver Contingency Management for Emerging Adults With Substance Use Disorders
Discusses the risk for young adults in the criminal justice system to misuse substances and develop substance use disorders. Highlights the increased risk for those young adults living in rural communities and explores the efficacy of a program that empowers probation officers to connect their clients to evidence-based substance use services. Details the results of this pilot program in two rural counties in Oregon.
Author(s): Tess K. Drazdowskia, Katherine Keltonc, Patrick F. Hibbard, et al.
Citation: Journal of Substance Use & Addiction Treatment, 166, 209450
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
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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
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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
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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
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Dental Anxiety and Oral Health in American Indian and Alaska Natives
Explores levels of "dental anxiety" or fear and anxiety around dental care in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. Discusses the historical and cultural factors that contribute to dental distrust, anxiety, and avoidance among AI/AN individuals. Breaks down data by age, gender, and educational attainment, among other factors.
Author(s): Tamanna Tiwari, Casey D. Wright, Lisa J. Heaton, et al.
Citation: Journal of Public Health Dentistry
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
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Congruence Between County Dental Health Provider Shortage Area Designations and the Social Vulnerability Index
Provides visual comparisons of the relationship between Dental Health Provider Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2020 Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) designations on county-level U.S. maps. Includes table showing median county-level SVI score by HPSA designation, broken down by metro, nonmetro, and all county.
Author(s): Gabriel A. Benavidez, Elizabeth Crouch, Joni Nelson, Amy Martin
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 21
Date: 06/2024
Type: Document
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Examining the Dental Care Crisis in America: How Can We Make Dental Care More Affordable and More Available?
Recording of a May 16, 2024, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions hearing on the accessibility and affordability of dental care, including in rural areas. Features testimony from the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.
Additional links: Myechia Minter-Jordan, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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Pediatric Oral Health Online Education for Rural and Migrant Head Start Programs in the United States
Presents a study on the efficacy of an online oral health workshop conducted by pediatric dental residents for Head Start staff, teachers and families in rural and migrant communities. Explores the program's effect on pediatric oral health literacy in rural and migrant communities, as well as the residents' opinions about potentially working in these communities after their residency.
Author(s): Francisco Ramos-Gomez, Stephanie Parkinson, Victor Garcia de Jesus, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(5), 544
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
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Dental Therapy Resource Guide
Describes the role of dental therapists in expanding access to dental health care in rural and underserved communities. Outlines the status of state laws and regulations regarding dental therapy education and practice as of August 2021. Compares the scope of practice of dental therapists to other dental care providers.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
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Experiences with and Outcomes of Oral Health Care - Perspectives from Nationally Representative Data
Report discusses the outcomes and experiences with oral healthcare from patients across the United States surveyed in January - February 2023. Details patients experience with access to care, attitudes about co-location of oral healthcare and other types of care, value-based care, telehealth usage, and discrimination in healthcare, among other topics. Breaks down demographic data of survey participants by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and urbanicity, among other measures.
Author(s): Lisa J. Heaton, Morgan Santoro, Paige Martin, Eric P. Tranby
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
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Last Updated: 10/31/2024