By Steve Pollock, President
and Chief Executive Officer, DentaQuest
It’s
no secret that millions of Americans lack access to basic oral health care.
According to the American Dental Association, 181 million Americans don’t visit a
dentist in a given year
and nearly half of people over 30 suffer from various forms of gum disease. This is a significant issue plaguing Americans across the
country.
And,
those who live in rural areas can experience higher rates of poverty, lower
oral health education, dental provider shortages and a scarcity of dependable
transportation, providing even more barriers to receiving basic dental care.
This culmination of factors is creating significant gaps in our oral health
care system, leaving many without services they need.
So, what is the
solution?
Well,
for starters, we need to prioritize medical-dental integration. Under
this model, dental and primary care providers alike would take an integrated
approach to diagnosis and treatment of patients.
To
provide an example, primary care practices would be trained to identify and
manage oral health needs for their patients, and also appropriately refer
and collaborate with dental partners. Similarly, if a patient went for a
routine dental check-up and showed signs or risk of diabetes, the dentist would
then refer them to a primary care provider for a closer look.
By
training providers in both practice worlds to conduct simple screenings and
spot specific signs, we can identify and thus address health issues more
quickly. And, in the healthcare system of tomorrow, a connected, efficient
network can help identify and address preventable diseases earlier on, while
also expanding our reach in underserved communities and improving cost
efficiency.
Does
medical-dental integration work?
The
thinking behind this type of integrated approach is exactly how the MORE Care (Medical Oral Expanded Care)
initiative
came to life. MORE Care is a pilot program launched by the DentaQuest Institute
that connects doctors’ offices with the resources and training to provide
preventive oral health services in South Carolina. It also connects medical
and dental teams to establish a referral-based system for patients.
Through
these efforts, MORE Care has already been able to access rural populations,
bringing them reliable, preventive care that previously was difficult to obtain.
Using
a phased approach, the DentaQuest Institute, in partnership with the South
Carolina Office of Rural Health and Medical University of South Carolina, is
initiating pilots of this program throughout the state that build oral health
into primary care, while also laying the foundation for dental care referral
networks.
In
its first year, we’ve worked with six rural primary care practices to
collaborate on solutions, test strategies to effectively deliver preventive
oral health services, communicate with dental providers and identify best
practices for the future of this program.
We’ve
also expanded our partnerships (working closely with the South Carolina Dental
Association) to enhance the program.
Will there be
MORE Care in the future?
So
far, the results are promising – we are reaching underserved patient
populations with integrated care and learning lessons to help us improve the
program as we look to expand it. We hope to have significant data and
insights early next year to inform our efforts to grow our reach.
As
all of us in healthcare search for efficient solutions that achieve
high-quality results, establishing medical-dental integration programs will
allow providers to deliver care to the whole person, reach a patient
population in significant need, and ultimately help control healthcare costs.