scholarly journals Disparities in Access to Oral Health Care

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 513-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary E. Northridge ◽  
Anjali Kumar ◽  
Raghbir Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
The United States ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Obesity And Diabetes ◽  
Centered Care

In the United States, people are more likely to have poor oral health if they are low-income, uninsured, and/or members of racial/ethnic minority, immigrant, or rural populations who have suboptimal access to quality oral health care. As a result, poor oral health serves as the national symbol of social inequality. There is increasing recognition among those in public health that oral diseases such as dental caries and periodontal disease and general health conditions such as obesity and diabetes are closely linked by sharing common risk factors, including excess sugar consumption and tobacco use, as well as underlying infection and inflammatory pathways. Hence, efforts to integrate oral health and primary health care, incorporate interventions at multiple levels to improve access to and quality of services, and create health care teams that provide patient-centered care in both safety net clinics and community settings may narrow the gaps in access to oral health care across the life course.

Patient Centered Care: A Paradigm Shift in the Delivery of Oral Health Care

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 793
Author(s):  
Aishwarya Bal ◽  
Rinkee Mohanty ◽  
Anurag Satpathy ◽  
Rashmita Nayak ◽  
Abhaya Chandra Das ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Patient Centered Care ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Centered Care

Oral health diseases among the older people: a general health perspective

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
General Health ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
The Relationship

Background: The relationship between oral health and general health is gaining interest in geriatric research; however, a lack of studies dealing with this issue from a general perspective makes it somewhat inaccessible to non-clinical public health professionals. Purpose: The purpose of this review is to describe the relationship between oral health and general health of the elderly on the basis of literature review, and to give non-clinical medical professionals and public health professionals an overview of this discipline. Methods: This study was based on an in-depth review of the literature pertaining to the relationship between oral health and general health among the older people. The tools commonly used to evaluate dental health and the academic researches of male elderly people were also reviewed. And future research directions were summarized. Results: Dental caries, periodontal disease, edentulism, and xerostomia are common oral diseases among the older people. Dental caries and periodontal diseases are the leading causes of missing teeth and edentulism. Xerostomia, similar to dry mouth, is another common oral health disease in the older people. No clear correlation exists between the subjective feeling of dryness and an objective decrease of saliva. Rather, both conditions can be explained by changes in saliva. The General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) are the main assessment tools used to examine oral health and quality of life in the older people. The GOHAI tends to be more sensitive to objective values pertaining to oral function. In addition, oral health studies in male elderly people are population-based cohort or cross-sectional studies, involving masticatory function, oral prevention, frailty problems, cardiovascular disease risk, and cognitive status. Conclusion: It is possible to reduce the incidence of certain oral diseases, even among individuals who take oral health care seriously. Oral health care should be based on the viewpoint of comprehensive treatment, including adequate nutrition, good life and psychology, and correct oral health care methods. In the future, researchers could combine the results of meta-analysis with the clinical experience of doctors to provide a more in-depth and broader discussion on oral health research topics concerning the older people.

Programs and Policies Targeted to Improve Access to Dental Care for Low Income Adults and Children in the US: An Integrative Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Davis AL ◽  
◽  
Zare H ◽  
Kanwar O ◽  
McCleary R ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Oral Health Literacy ◽  
The Us ◽  
Access To Dental Care

Objective: The authors conducted an integrative literature review of recent studies that explored the impact of interventions implemented in the U.S. that focused on improving access to dental care for low-income and vulnerable populations. Methods: The authors conducted an integrative literature review of studies published between 2012-2018 that addressed six oral health policy spheres. 1) Community-based dental access programs; (2) Medicaid reimbursement and expansion; (3) Student loan support; (4) Oral health services in non-traditional settings and dental residency programs; (5) Programs to improve oral health literacy; and (6) Use of dental therapists. Results: The authors included 39 articles for qualitative synthesis. Numerous public health initiatives and programs exist in the US aimed at increasing access to quality oral health care. Medicaid expansion, increased Medicaid fee-for-service reimbursement rates, and state loan repayment programs have demonstrated some success in improving access among underserved populations. A diversified dental workforce, with community dental health workers and mid-level providers like dental therapists, as well as interprofessional training of nurses and primary-care physicians in oral health have also shown positive impacts in advancing health equity. Further studies are needed to understand how oral health literacy programs can affect access and utilization of dental services. Conclusions: Improvements to the oral health care safety net will require a holistic and multifaceted approach in order to reduce oral health disparities. Policy levers should work, not in isolation, but rather in complementary fashion to one another.

Toward More Patient-Centered and Prevention-Oriented Oral Health Care

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Leggett ◽  
D. Duijster ◽  
G.V.A. Douglas ◽  
K. Eaton ◽  
G.J.M.G. van der Heijden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Disease Prevention ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Oral Care ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
European Union Member States

ADVOCATE (Added Value for Oral Care) is a project funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 program, which aims to develop strategies for a system transition toward more patient-centered and prevention-oriented oral health care delivery within health care systems. This system should balance the restorative and preventive approaches in dental and oral health care. ADVOCATE is a partnership among 6 European Union member states, which involves collaboration among universities, state-funded health care providers, and private insurance companies in Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Aridhia, a biomedical informatics company based in Scotland. There are 6 interrelated work packages, which aim to address the following objectives: 1) in-depth evaluation of oral health care systems in European Union member states to identify best system designs for oral disease prevention, 2) development of a set of measures to provide information on oral care delivery and oral health outcomes, 3) evaluation of a feedback approach in dental practice that aims to facilitate a change toward preventive oral health care delivery, and 4) economic evaluation of strategies to promote preventive oral health care and development of policy recommendations for oral health care systems. The project is novel in its use of data that are routinely collected by health insurance organizations, as well as the engagement of key stakeholders from dental teams, insurers, patients, and policy makers in guiding the development and progress of the project. This article outlines in detail the objectives and research methodology of the ADVOCATE project and its anticipated impact. Knowledge Transfer Statement: This commentary describes the development of policy options to promote a greater focus on disease prevention in general dental practice. The approach builds on identifying the comparative effectiveness of alternative incentive schemes, as well as methods to monitor clinical and patient-derived measures of success in creating health for patients. The article describes the development and application of the measures and the evaluation of their success in orienting clinical practice more toward disease prevention.

scholarly journals A Consensus-Based Set of Measures for Oral Health Care

2017 ◽  
Vol 96 (8) ◽  
pp. 881-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Baâdoudi ◽  
A. Trescher ◽  
D. Duijster ◽  
N. Maskrey ◽  
F. Gabel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Routine Data ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Dental Practitioners ◽  
Care Systems

Increasingly more responsive and accountable health care systems are demanded, which is characterized by transparency and explicit demonstration of competence by health care providers and the systems in which they work. This study aimed to establish measures of oral health for transparent and explicit reporting of routine data to facilitate more patient-centered and prevention-oriented oral health care. To accomplish this, an intermediate objective was to develop a comprehensive list of topics that a range of stakeholders would perceive as valid, important, and relevant for describing oral health and oral health care. A 4-stage approach was used to develop the list of topics: 1) scoping of literature and its appraisal, 2) a meeting of experts, 3) a 2-stage Delphi process (online), and 4) a World Café discussion. The aim was to create consensus through structured conversations via a range of stakeholders (general dental practitioners, patients, insurers, and policy makers) from the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hungary, and Denmark. The study was part of the ADVOCATE project, and it resulted in a list of 48 topics grouped into 6 clusters: 1) access to dental care, 2) symptoms and diagnosis, 3) health behaviors, 4) oral treatments, 5) oral prevention, and 6) patient perception. All topics can be measured, as they all have a data source with defined numerators and denominators. This study is the first to establish a comprehensive and multiple-stakeholder consented topic list designed for guiding the implementation of transparent and explicit measurement of routine data of oral health and oral health care. Successful measurement within oral health care systems is essential to facilitate learning from variation in practice and outcomes within and among systems, and it potentiates improvement toward more patient-centered and prevention-oriented oral health care.

scholarly journals Financing Oral Health Care for Low-Income Adults Living with HIV/AIDS

2012 ◽  
Vol 127 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 82-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helene Bednarsh ◽  
David A. Reznik ◽  
Carol R. Tobias
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Hiv Aids

scholarly journals Strengthening the approach to oral health policy and practice in Canada

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-85
Author(s):  
Shauna Hachey ◽  
Joanne Clovis ◽  
Kimberley Lamarche
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Policy And Practice

Abstract Evidence suggests that Canadian children from marginalized populations experience higher rates of oral diseases than their more fortunate counterparts. Oral health care in Canada is a nearly exclusively privatized and siloed system. In order to close the gap in child oral health, a combination of cohesive strategies and accessible providers is essential. The Health Impact Pyramid is a paradigm to guide health policy and programming with ready application to oral health care in Canada for the delivery of evidence-based oral health interventions with high impact. A collaborative approach among primary care providers (oral health and nonoral health), educators and the public sector, and the utilization of oral health service providers to their full scope of practice is needed to access priority populations and to deliver the most impactful interventions. Strengthening the approach to oral health care in Canada is necessary to reduce the inequities in oral health and, in turn, overall child health.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document