We’ve Got to Start Talking About Oral Health

By Fay Donohue, CEO, DentaQuest

Here’s how we know we’ve got a problem in this country when it comes to discussing oral health: A major network morning show airs a 10-minute segment with tips on how to brush your pet’s teeth.

When was the last time you can remember a TV segment with tips on how children should brush or floss their teeth – or advice on preventive measures such as sealants? It’s probably been awhile because the most common reaction from the media when the suggestion is made is: “We don’t cover dental.”

Can that really be the case in 2011, a decade after the U.S. Surgeon General declared childhood tooth decay a “silent epidemic”? Tooth decay—which is almost 100 percent preventable—is the most prevalent chronic disease in children 5 to 17 and is growing among very young children, particularly poor young children. And poor oral health is associated with severe problems such as diabetes and heart disease, so why isn’t the media talking more about oral health?

There’s a trivialization of oral health that is baffling. Maybe with all the coverage of celebrities and the fascination with teeth whitening, there is a sense that all the talk about oral health is really just cosmetic. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Congress gets it. The Affordable Care Act ensures that dental care for children is fully integrated into the law as part of the essential benefits package for children. As we move forward with health reform, it is important to remember that oral health is a critical component of the Act and should be funded and supported.

The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare gets it. The agency established new goals to increase access to dental coverage and work with states to develop an oral health action plan for 2020.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) gets it. IOM just released a report assessing the efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services and recommending ways of enhancing and improving oral health in America and called it “The New Oral Health Initiative.”
The Pew Center on the States gets it too. Together with the Kellogg and DentaQuest Foundations, they have put out a state-by-state score card on how states are doing in providing access to oral health for their residents. This report serves another important purpose – it gets people talking about oral health—and that’s important.

What will it take to recognize that talking about oral health is a necessary first step --- for the wellbeing of children because we can help them avoid a lifetime of tooth decay and pain, but also for the health and economic wellbeing of us all? Ignoring it shouldn’t be an option.

Related posts:
· The State of Oral Health in America is Not so Good
· Washington’s Unseen Oral Health Debate
· Some Good News at Massachusetts’ Medicaid Dental Program
· The Silent Epidemic: Early Childhood Caries

Venture Fund for Oral Health

By Ralph Fuccillo, President of the DentaQuest Foundation

I’m excited to announce that we’ve launched the first-ever Venture Fund for Oral Health.

One of the major obstacles to achieving nationwide optimal oral health is the lack of funding to bring effective solutions to scale. Developed by the DentaQuest Foundation, The Venture Fund for Oral Health is a new funding opportunity for oral health programs that have shown positive outcomes and have potential to make a large-scale impact.

The four areas that the Venture’s grants focus on include:

• Public policy that supports improved oral health


• Increased public and private funding for oral health initiatives


• Improvement in the delivery of oral health care and prevention programs


• Expanded community engagement on oral health issues
  

To qualify for funding, organizations must demonstrate proven past successes in one of the systems that we seek to impact – policy, funding, care, community – and a well-developed plan for expansion.

By replicating programs that have proven to be successful in reducing oral health disparities, we can improve access to oral health care and reduce oral disease for vulnerable children and their families. Knowing that tooth decay is the most prevalent chronic disease among children aged five to 17, it goes without saying that the Venture Fund for Oral Health is both critical and hopeful.

So please, spread the word! If you are part of an organization that promotes oral health or know of an organization that is eligible, encourage them to apply for one of these grants.

An Alliance: Common Ground & Shared Solutions

By Ralph Fuccillo
President, DentaQuest Foundation

During the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to be part of an exciting, collaborative initiative that has mobilized the oral health community across the nation. What’s the initiative? The U.S. National Oral Health Alliance. The Alliance is bringing together groups with various interests and perspectives in a never-before-seen way. It is really quite remarkable.

The roots of the Alliance date back to the 2009 American Dental Association’s Access to Dental Care Summit, where more than 140 leaders in dentistry, dental education and the dental industry, as well as medical professionals, health advocates, opinion leaders, program heads, policy makers and others collectively addressed a common vision: ensuring access to care and prevention that supports optimal oral health for America’s most vulnerable children and adults...within the next five years.

With that vision came a commitment to work together to find common ground and work for shared solutions – and the Alliance was born. So far, we’ve made tremendous progress toward extending the common ground that grew from the Summit, but there is still more to be done. As the recent Institute of Medicine report points out, not enough Americans have access to dental care and nearly one-third of the population reports challenges in accessing dental care.

The Alliance continues to work toward a common purpose of improving access and oral health and welcomes all as partners.

Skeptics may say this is not possible, but having experienced the trust building and commitment of colleagues that built this new organization over the past two years, I am convinced we can fulfill the vision that many of you claimed as your own.

Visit www.usnoha.org. The first gathering, a Colloquium, is in November. Get your name on the list by joining the Alliance. Shared leadership, open minds, and the willingness to collaborate will further build on the best ideas to improve oral health for those who are most in need.

Related Posts:

• The Oral Health 2014 Initiative


• Sonrie!


• Maryland Dental Action Coalition Launches 5-Year Oral Health Plan


• Report from the Field: National Oral Health Conference, 2011

Tooth protection: Sealants for better oral health

We in the oral health community often take it for granted that everyone understands the importance of preventive treatments when it comes to good oral health. But the reality is that everyone isn’t aware of simple, cost effective things they can do—like brushing and flossing every day and seeing your dental care provider every year. And sometimes we don’t fully appreciate how difficult it may be for some to get dental services -- and that limits their use of preventive treatments.

Prevention is important for everyone, but especially so for children. If we can keep children free from dental disease, we are giving them a strong start to a healthy life. As I’ve said here before, it is hard to do well in school or in life, when you have constant tooth pain.

Dental sealants are a very good way to prevent tooth decay in children.

For those who may not be familiar with them, dental sealants are thin plastic coatings applied to permanent molars. The sealant is applied as a liquid that is brushed onto the deep grooves of teeth by your oral healthcare professional. Sealants dry into the plastic film that provides a physical barrier to bacteria and sugar and effectively protects the pits and grooves on the biting surfaces of teeth from dental decay.

Sealants are considered a cost-effective intervention to prevent tooth decay. Consider this: the cost of applying one dental sealant is significantly less than the average cost of filling that same tooth. And when you think that a single sealant may prevent that tooth from being re-filled many times over a lifetime, it is just pennies spent for every dollar saved.

In support of sealants as a proven preventive treatment, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2020 set a goal of increasing the number of children who have received dental sealants on their molar teeth to 50 percent. But, despite numerous studies confirming that sealants are a cost-effective intervention, only a handful of states have reached this goal.

To help reach this national goal, the DentaQuest Institute is working with five community health center dental programs to find effective ways to increase the use of sealants for children aged 6 to 8 and adolescents 12 to 14. Those are the ages when the permanent molars erupt into the mouth. We hope the results of this Dental Sealants Initiative will help other oral health care providers make sure sealants are a standard tool in their offices for preventing cavities in children and adolescents.

We are optimistic the results of this DentaQuest Institute quality improvement initiative will increase the number of children who receive dental sealants. And that means less dental disease.

Related Posts:
· Some Good News at Massachusetts’ Medicaid Dental Program
· Healthy Smiles in Miami Dade Schools
· Washington’s Unseen Oral Health Debate
· Let’s Talk About the Oral Health of America’s Children
· Is Anyone Listening?

The Oral Health 2014 Initiative

By Ralph Fuccillo, President, DentaQuest Foundation

On June 29, the DentaQuest Foundation launched the Oral Health 2014 initiative and opened the RFP. This is the biggest investment to date by the DentaQuest Foundation-- a multi-year commitment to strengthen and accelerate state, regional, and community action on behalf of better oral health. You can view the RFP on our website: www.dentaquestfoundation.org.

Our mission is to support and promote optimal oral health. To do that, we are directing our leadership and investments to oral health improvement at the national, state and local levels. These investments are strategic, multi-layered, and focused on improving systems– that is the systems that provide and finance care, enhance public policy, and help communities build and navigate available resources for better oral health.

Our Oral Health 2014 initiative supports that strategy. We are encouraging applicants to think outside-of-the-box, to engage a broad range of stakeholders – expected and unexpected, and to lead them in effectively developing a plan for change. We will be watching for the local impact of Oral Health 2014 grantee activities on the essential systems of Policy, Funding, Care, and Community throughout the life of the initiative.

The Oral Health 2014 initiative complements and supports the newly formed U.S. National Oral Health Alliance (Alliance) with engaged local partners across the United States. The DentaQuest Foundation is excited by the opportunities created by this Alliance to encourage cross-sector collaboration and involve many partners in solutions that meet the oral health needs of underserved children and adults in our communities. The Oral Health 2014 Initiative supports this work.

For more information about Oral Health 2014 and eligibility, contact Patrick Finnerty, Senior Advisor, State Oral Health Programs, pat.finnerty@dentaquestfoundation.org

For more information on the application process, contact Brenda Lavasta, Programs and Grants Associate, 617.886.1760, brenda.lavasta@dentaquestfoundation.org

Important Dates and Deadlines

• July 7, 2011 Informational conference call Q&A for potential applicants. Email Brenda Lavasta to join.
• July 22, 2011 (3 p.m. EST) Deadline for receipt of Letters of Intent (LOI).
• August 10, 2011 Applicants notified if invited to submit a full proposal for Planning Phase.
• September 9, 2011 (3 p.m. EST) Deadline for proposals for Planning Grant.
• October 14, 2011 Applicants notified of award decisions for Planning Grant.
• November 9-10, 2011 Grantee Gathering.

Prevention is Key

It was great to see the National Prevention Council’s recently released action plan for health prevention – but I couldn’t help but notice that there was no mention of the importance of oral health—at all.

Prevention is what helps us have good oral health vs. poor oral health. And prevention is all about understanding your risk factors and protective factors. This is true if you are a child or an adult.

In this Oral Health Matters blog, I try to get my readers to think about the risk factors—the things in your life which contribute to poor oral health. There are protective factors too and I’ll talk about them in another blog post. Right now, however, I’ll highlight some common risk areas. I hope you will read through them thoughtfully. If you say ‘yes’ to any of them, it is time to make an appointment with your dentist.

Common risk areas:

1. Not brushing and flossing your teeth every day – to remove food and bacteria. Making this part of your daily routine is a small change that pays big benefits.


2. Irregular visits to the dentist. I encourage visiting your dentist at least once a year. Why? Your dentist can detect early signs of trouble and help you get on track.


3. Have you had a cavity within the last 3 years? Have you lost teeth because of tooth decay or gum disease? Do you have puffy or bleeding gums, receding (shrinking) gums, or areas of the gum line where the root surface of the tooth is exposed? This could mean there may be active gum disease in your mouth. Your dental professional will want to watch you closely for this.


4. How is your health? Are you pregnant? Have you been diagnosed with diabetes? Do you use/abuse tobacco (cigarettes, pipes, cigars, chewing) or drugs? Do you regularly take prescription/over-the counter-medicines? Do you have braces or partial dentures? Are you undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy? Do you have an eating disorder? Do you have dry mouth? Each of these conditions puts you at higher risk for tooth decay or gum disease. Your oral health professional will help you make adjustments to keep your mouth healthy.


5. Are you a between-meal-snacker? Do you have a fondness for sugary foods? Do you drink a lot of soda or energy drinks? The sugars and acids in these foods/drinks can encourage tooth decay—especially if you let them linger in your mouth for hours. Again, your oral health professional can help you understand how to lower your risk of oral disease with things as simple as rinsing your mouth with water after eating to keep your teeth healthy.

Think about your answers to these questions and use them to start a conversation with your dentist about managing your areas of risk.

I would like to see Americans get smarter about the role of oral health in their overall health. That’s why I write this blog. When consumers have the knowledge to prevent problems and know when to seek care, they will likely be healthier. That’s why it is upsetting to me that oral health was missing from the National Prevention Council’s action plan.

I’d like to hear what you have to say on the importance of prevention. What does prevention mean to you?

Related Posts:

• Making Coverage Matter: Pew’s 50 State Report on Children’s Oral Health
• State of Oral Health In America Is Not So Good
• A New Chapter for Prevention
• Let’s Talk About the Oral Health of America’s Children
• Healthy Smiles in Miami Dade Schools

Sonrie!

Oral care in the United States is undergoing many significant changes. One of these is the exciting growth in the number of Hispanic dental practitioners and patients.

I just returned from the Hispanic Dental Association’s Annual (HDA) Roundtable in Plano, TX where I had the privilege of representing DentaQuest. HDA is a rapidly growing organization and the growth is expected to continue well into the 21st century. That’s a good thing because some experts are projecting a U.S. population that will soon be 40% Hispanic. Being able to talk to patients in a way that respects their culture and background is so important in providing the right care, at the right time, so we make a real impact.

The Hispanic Dental Association is playing a major role in building leadership for Hispanic oral health professionals during this time of change and it, like DentaQuest, is focused on prevention, treatment and education. DentaQuest and the DentaQuest Foundation are proud to support their work in improving oral health in the Hispanic population.

It was good to hear about the plans, concerns, needs and passion for dentistry among the member dentists. Several chapter presidents are DentaQuest providers. For me, this was an opportunity to explain the many facets of the DentaQuest enterprise’s commitment to improving oral health – our benefit programs, philanthropy, and clinical care improvement projects. I talked about the work we are doing to support dentists and their patients, to make participating in our networks easier, and to make sure oral health providers can deliver the best care outcomes. The dentists at the Roundtable were very interested in DentaQuest’s dental home project, our broken appointment project, and the many ways our website makes their work easier.

The dentists I met are enthusiastic champions for good oral health. They are hopeful that we will continue to support their meetings with our presence and are anxious to work with the DentaQuest Institute to improve cultural competency at the practice level. I believe that we have a very effective partnership developing. But for any effort like this to truly be successful we will need the partnership to extend to patients as well. Patients can and should play an important role. I’d like to hear from you on your thoughts.