QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
December 2023
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Newsletter highlights
Delta Dental Oral Health Diversity Fund Inaugural Awardees: In October, as part of its Driving Greater Diversity in the Oral Health Workforce campaign, the Delta Dental Institute (DDI) announced the inaugural award recipients of over $700,000 from the Delta Dental Oral Health Diversity Fund.
New research on oral health care during the COVID-19 pandemic: New research from Delta Dental on oral health care during the COVID-19 pandemic reported a significant decrease in the provision of preventive oral health care services when compared to pre-pandemic levels.
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Driving Greater Diversity in the Oral Health Workforce | |
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Delta Dental Awards $725,000 to programs working to drive greater diversity in the oral health workforce
In October, as part of its Driving Greater Diversity in the Oral Health Workforce campaign, the Delta Dental Institute announced the inaugural award recipients of over $700,000 from the Delta Dental Oral Health Diversity Fund, the first national investment fund focused on ensuring more school-aged children from historically underrepresented groups consider careers in oral health. The four awardees are: Diversity in Dentistry Mentorships, the Hispanic Dental Association, NAF, and the Society of American Indian Dentists.
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New research from Delta Dental finds a significant decrease in the provision of preventive oral health services resulting from the pandemic, raising concerns about long-term impacts
New research from Delta Dental on oral health care during the COVID-19 pandemic, published recently by the Journal of the American Dental Association, reported a significant decrease in the provision of preventive oral health care services when compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The study, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on oral health care use in the United States through December 2021, showed that there were significant decreases in preventive dental services that persisted for more than a year, particularly across all age groups under 65.
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Delta Dental of Arkansas:
Providing critical dental services to cancer patients
The Delta Dental of Arkansas Foundation supported the Dental Clinic at CARTI, which treats patients who need oral care before starting treatment for head or neck cancers. Patients often require an oral surgeon to perform complex teeth extractions or fit customized prosthetic devices. The community grant enabled oral health care, education, and follow-up care for uninsured and low-income Arkansans and supported patients during their cancer journey.
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Delta Dental of South Dakota:
Promoting comprehensive preventive health care
The Delta Dental of South Dakota Foundation established the Partners for Prevention program to help promote cavity prevention in children and encourage visiting a dentist before age three. Through this program, primary care clinicians and students are trained to apply fluoride varnish to strengthen tooth enamel and prevent cavities in kids aged five and under who may be at high risk. Last year, over 1,300 fluoride varnish applications were provided during well-child visits; three times the number provided in 2017.
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Delta Dental of Wisconsin: Supporting the Boys & Girls Club with preventive oral care
The Delta Dental of Wisconsin Foundation celebrated two years of operation at the Smile Club, a dental clinic within the Boys & Girls Club of Portage County that offers preventive services and treatment coordination for underserved children. The clinic is staffed with a full-time hygienist and assistant providing preventive care and dental education outreach, and volunteer dentists who provide exams. More than half of the patients at the Smile Club have untreated caries, and almost all have Medicaid coverage or are uninsured.
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Delta Dental joins thought leaders at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit to address advancing whole-person health
On November 7, Joseph Dill, DDS, MBA, Chief Dental Officer, Delta Dental Plans Association (DDPA) and Head of Dental Science, DDI, along with a panel of prominent health care leaders, gathered at the Milken Institute’s Future of Health Summit in Washington, D.C., to discuss advancing whole-person health and breaking down silos in chronic disease prevention.
Key focal points of the conversation included:
- Growing recognition of the importance of social determinants of health in influencing health outcomes and the need for policymakers and health care providers to establish a system that prioritizes prevention and promotes health equity
- A shift towards whole-person health and understanding the interconnectedness between the most prevalent chronic conditions, the impacts of social determinants of health, and how the public health sector can have a positive role in population wellness
- Oral health’s role in overall health and how access to dental care can impact health outcomes and chronic disease risk, the need to increase the number of oral health professionals from historically underrepresented groups and diversify the oral health workforce, and the challenges associated with poor oral health literacy
- Solving challenges around the dispersion of patient data, data sharing, and streamlining tracking and reporting to help identify people who are at risk of developing chronic diseases in the future
The panel was moderated by Isabella Cueto, Chronic Disease Reporter at STAT, and also featured Kristen Clifford, Chief Program Officer, Alzheimer’s Association; Karen Hacker, Director, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Anand Parekh, Chief Medical Advisor, Bipartisan Policy Center; and Maha Radhakrishnan, Group Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Biogen.
Learn more about the event and watch a recording of the panel here. DDI is proud to serve as a Milken Institute partner.
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Addressing access and equity in New Mexico and South Carolina
A roundtable discussion with Axios
DDI concluded its 2023 Expert Voices roundtable series with discussions in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in November and in Columbia, South Carolina, in December.
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Lessons learned in Albuquerque
In partnership with Delta Dental of New Mexico and Axios, DDI was honored to have Elizabeth Stefanics, New Mexico State Senator; Pamela Blackwell, Director of Government Relations and Communications, New Mexico Hospital Association; Christina Campos, Administrator, Guadalupe County Hospital; and Dr. Abinash Achrekar, Executive Vice Chair of Medicine, University of New Mexico, in attendance.
Key themes from the conversation:
Attendees discussed the main barriers impacting health care in New Mexico and shared their perspectives on potential solutions, including access to broadband, responding to Medicaid unwinding processes, and implementing new funding programs for rural health care delivery.
Participants highlighted opportunities to help support rural communities by offering home-based care, expanding telehealth services, exploring transportation partnerships, and training local health care teams to increase access to educational programs.
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Lessons learned in Columbia
In partnership with Delta Dental of South Carolina and Axios, DDI was honored to have Teshieka Curtis-Pugh, Executive Director, South Carolina Nurses Association; Megan Weis, Director, South Carolina Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare; Kim Smith, Founder and CEO, Health Evolve Technologies; and Cyndi New, Director of Community Health and Health Equity, Self Regional Healthcare, in attendance.
Key themes from the conversation:
Attendees outlined several challenges impeding access to care for people who live in rural areas of South Carolina and emphasized the need for solutions that focus on building trust and offering more opportunities to receive quality in-person care.
Participants discussed the significant shortage of physicians and nurses in the state, especially in rural areas, and also the lack of public health professionals required to help educate patients on prevention.
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A closer look at a dental workforce model: mid-level providers
Tamana (Bunny) Begay, DDS, and External Advisor to the Driving Greater Diversity in the Oral Health Workforce campaign, takes a closer look at dental workforce models and the role of mid-level providers.
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Milken Power of Ideas: Advancing better health through oral health
DDPA’s Chief Dental Officer and DDI’s Head of Dental Science, Joseph Dill, DDS, MBA, shares his perspective on the lasting change that can be created by advancing better health through oral health and how health professionals and decision-makers can work together to achieve this goal.
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Adults continue to practice good oral health habits at home
However, there is room for improvement when it comes to flossing and using mouthwash.
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Source: Delta Dental’s 2023 State of America’s Oral Health and Wellness Report | | |
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