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Oral Health in Rural Communities – Resources

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

Narrowing the Rural Oral Healthcare Gap: The 2017 Rural Interprofessional Oral Health Practice Symposium
Discusses a 2017 symposium on interprofessional oral health practice in rural communities. Details the current state of interprofessional practice, as well as goals for the future. Discusses the results of a number of survey questions given to the symposium participants.
Author(s): Sean G. Boynes, Ce Ce Heyward, Christine Kenney, et al.
Citation: BMC Oral Health, 18(Supplement 1), 212
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
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Improving Oral Health Care Services in Rural America
Discusses the link between oral health and overall health and issues affecting oral health access in rural areas, including shortages of dental providers, differences in dental hygienist scope of practice by state, and insurance coverage. Provides an overview of federal efforts related to rural oral health and offers policy recommendations. Includes a summary of local perspectives from a site visit to Winnsboro Smiles Family Dentistry in rural South Carolina as part of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services meeting.
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Dental Health Aides in Alaska: A Qualitative Assessment to Improve Pediatric Oral Health in Remote Rural Villages
Evaluates the response to oral health disparities and access issues in remote Alaska Native villages by pediatric dental health aides. Draws data from interviews with patient focus groups, providers, and individual community members. Discusses barriers and strengths for pediatric dental health aides, including cultural competency, program sustainability, and expanded access to preventative oral health services.
Author(s): Kirsten Senturia, Louis Fiset, Kim Hort, et al.
Citation: Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, 46(4), 416-424
Date: 08/2018
Type: Document
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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
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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
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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
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An Advanced Dental Therapist in Rural Minnesota: Jodi Hager's Case Study
Presents a case study of a dental therapy practice in rural Minnesota. Discusses the practice's productivity, workflow and scheduling, and its effect on oral health access in the area.
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Apple Tree Dental
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Filling the Gap: USDA, Utility Co-ops Working to Bring Badly Needed Dental Services to Rural Iowans
Features the Fulfilling Iowa's Need for Dentists (FIND) program funded by USDA Rural Development via pass-through loans to several telephone and electric cooperatives to provide dental care to Iowa's rural communities. Details the development of FIND and the ways in which it helps place dentists in underserved areas. Story available starting on page 12.
Author(s): Darin Leach
Citation: Rural Cooperatives, 85(1), 12-13, 43
Date: 01/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Rural Development
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Trends in the Provision of Oral Health Services by Federally Qualified Health Centers
Summarizes trends in recent years and factors that predict likelihood of a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) providing general or specialty oral health services. Features statistics including breakdowns by percentage of population living in rural areas.
Author(s): Simona Surdu, Margaret Langelier
Date: 01/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Oral Health
Details migrant agricultural workers' oral health status and unmet oral health needs. Discusses risk factors and barriers to care.
Date: 2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Farmworker Health
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Last Updated: 10/30/2024