Thursday, January 31, 2013

DentaQuest Welcomes Dr. John Luther!


Guest Post by Dr. John Luther, DentaQuest Senior Vice President of Dental Management and Chief Dental Officer

Hello Everyone!

My name is Dr. John Luther and I have recently been appointed Senior Vice President of Dental Management and Chief Dental Officer here at DentaQuest.

With its mission to improve the oral health of all and to use unique and innovative strategies to prevent and eradicate dental disease, DentaQuest and I share a common mission and I couldn’t ask for a better match.
Having previously practiced dentistry for 20 years in California, I thoroughly enjoyed my family dental practice, especially when engaging and interacting with patients. I come to DentaQuest from UnitedHealthcare, where I served as the Chief Dental Officer, primarily responsible for dental network utilization management, disease management and wellness programs. Prior to working for United, I served as Senior Vice President of the American Dental Association, with primary responsibility for dental practice, dental benefits, access, prevention, intra-professional relations, informatics and the health policy center.

My true passion lies in the development of new treatment and financial models for care delivery. In my new role, I hope to collaborate with all of the gifted staff at DentaQuest and bring together best practices around dental treatment, network management and new reimbursement models to drive our success. My other interests include health literacy, patient-centered integrated care and medical/dental collaboration.   

I am extremely excited to be here, to meet the rest of the staff and other thought leaders with whom DentaQuest works and plan to work toward a bright future for oral healthcare.

Best,
Dr. Luther

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Progress Toward Oral Health Access for All

Guest blog post by Dr. Michael Monopoli

Advocates and our government system are making great strides in breaking down systematic barriers to oral health care access. As noted in the Oral Health Matters July 2 post, “Working Together for Oral Health,” there are many organizations and advocates across the nation collaborating to create initiatives aimed at better access to oral health care. Real people are coming together with common goals and creating conditions where individuals and groups with different perspectives feel comfortable working together to create a positive change for oral health. 

In January, The DentaQuest Foundation is opening two new grant opportunities—an expansion of the Oral Health 2014 Initiative and the launch of an Innovation Fund for Oral Health. Each will be introduced during a webinar in January 2013. Nonprofit organizations interested in joining a national network of committed stakeholders working together to promote systemic change in oral health should plan to attend the webinars to gain a shared understanding of how we can partner together.  

Oral Health 2014 –Building Local Leaders for National Impact is a multi-year, strategic investment that is fostering state and local collaboration focused on improving oral health of underserved people. Launched in 2011, the Oral Health 2014 Initiative currently encompasses 18 state organization participants. The DentaQuest Foundation is expanding Oral Health 2014 with potential funding available for up to 10 new grantees to begin the planning phase of the initiative within their states. 

A webinar will be held on January 8 from 2 to 3pm ET to discuss this opportunity. You can register for the webinar at this link: https://ww4.premconf.com/webrsvp/register?conf_id=1447307.

The Innovation Fund for Oral Health –Supporting Inventive Strategies to Promote Systems Change in Oral Health represents a unique opportunity for inventive nonprofit organizations to create systems change that reduces and eliminates barriers to access to oral health care services and promotes community-based prevention strategies. The DentaQuest Foundation emphasizes a holistic approach to innovation, supporting work with existing organizations and programs in new ways and develop new strategies to produce results. 

Interested organizations should join us on January 9, 2013 from 2 to 3pm ET to learn more about this new DentaQuest Foundation investment opportunity. Registration for the Innovation Fund for Oral Health launch webinar can be found here: https://ww4.premconf.com/webrsvp/register?conf_id=6704120

It’s rewarding to see how the work of DentaQuest Foundation grantees and others across the nation that are transforming the ways people are approaching oral health care. These efforts show us that, although we have a way to go in creating a shared understanding of how to prevent oral disease among those who provide care, those who write health policies, those who finance care, and those who teach health education and prevention, a movement toward oral health access for all is well underway.  

Dr. Michael Monopoli is Director Policy and Programs for the DentaQuest Foundation.