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Oral Health in Rural Communities – Resources

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

The Rural Primary Care Practice Guide to Creating Interprofessional Oral Health Networks
Provides guidance on establishing interprofessional networks between primary care providers and oral health providers. Presents activities for both parties to work toward the goal of oral healthcare integration.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: DentaQuest Institute
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Preventable Tooth Loss in Hawai'i: The Role of Socioeconomic Status, Diabetes, and Dental Visits
Results of a study examining association of tooth loss with health risk, dental care access, and sociodemographic factors including income level in 13,371 adults from 4 racial and ethnic groups in Hawaii. Features demographic statistics including breakdowns by residence in a city center, outside a city center, or a nonmetropolitan area.
Author(s): Mikako Deguchi, Marjorie K. Leimomi Mala Mau, James Davis, Richard Niederman
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 14
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
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Examining Oral Health Care Utilization and Expenditures for Low-Income Adults
Explores oral health utilization and Medicaid expenditures across the nation. Presents a state-by-state map of Medicaid coverage for adult dental services. Breaks down data by age, race, and rural-urban areas, among other factors.
Author(s): Stacey Chazin, June Glover
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Rural Veterans' Dental Utilization, BRFSS, 2014
Highlight study on the dental utilization rates for rural veterans. Explores whether the rural veterans are more likely to experience negative oral health outcomes, such as missing teeth. Breaks down data by age, race, educational attainment, and rural versus urban location, among other factors.
Author(s): R. Constance Wiener, Chan Shen, Usha Sambamoorthi, Patricia A. Findley
Citation: Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 77(4), 383-392
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
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Trends in the Development of the Dental Service Organization Model: Implications for the Oral Health Workforce and Access to Services
Results of a 2017 survey of dental service organizations, which often build new practices in underserved and rural areas, and case studies of 6 dental support organizations providing general or specialty dentistry in North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Florida, and Massachusetts.
Author(s): Margaret Langelier, Shen Wang, Simona Surdu, Elizabeth Mertz, Cynthia Wides
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Health Workforce Studies, Oral Health Workforce Research Center
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An Assessment of Mobile and Portable Dentistry Programs to Improve Population Oral Health
Describes configurations of portable and mobile dental programs including models and applications, discusses targeted populations, details variations in regulations by state, and examines outcomes of preventive interventions in underserved areas. Includes case studies of 7 programs initiated to improve access in underserved populations or in rural areas.
Additional links: Policy Brief
Author(s): Margaret Langelier, Jean Moore, Rachel Carter, et al.
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Oral Health Workforce Research Center
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Chartbook: Trends in Rural Children's Oral Health and Access to Care
Findings brief discussing oral health disparities between urban and rural children in 2003, 2007, and 2011-2012. Features statistics including poverty status, health insurance coverage, percentage of children having a recent preventive dental visit, and condition of teeth, with breakdowns by race or ethnicity and urban, large rural, or small rural status.
Author(s): Amy B. Martin, Janice C. Probst, Karen M. Jones
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Improving Rural Oral Health: Six States' Response to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Oral Health Strategic Framework
Findings brief describing how Colorado, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina have responded to the Department of Health and Human Services' 2014-2017 goals for advancing oral health in America, with emphasis on programs available to children. Features statistics including number of dental insurance companies, number of public health dental clinics or Federally Qualified Health Centers providing oral health services, and number of full-time and part-time dentists and dental hygienists at these facilities in each of the six states.
Author(s): Amy B. Martin, Janice C. Probst, Karen M. Jones
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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A Workforce Strategy for Reducing Oral Health Disparities: Dental Therapists
Presents a history of dental therapy as a workforce strategy, from development to implementation. Examines the states and tribal nations that have implemented dental therapists as a means to improve oral healthcare access.
Author(s): Jane Koppelman, Rebecca Singer-Cohen
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(Suppl 1), S13-S17
Date: 06/2017
Type: Document
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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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Last Updated: 9/4/2024