- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- NRHA Continues Partnership to Advance Rural Oral Health
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
- Q&A: What Are the Challenges and Opportunities of Small-Town Philanthropy?
- HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson, Joined by Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Maternal Health Caucus Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, Announces New Funding, Policy Action, and Report to Mark Landmark Year of HRSA's Enhancing Maternal Health Initiative
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces $60 Million Investment for Adding Early Morning, Night, and Weekend Hours at Community Health Centers
Providing Oral Health Care in Rural Areas
This distance from places like dental offices and grocery stores makes it challenging for patients in rural areas to have good oral health. Dr. Jessica Robertson, DMD, shares patients are only coming to town once a month to get their groceries. So, their perishables will be done and over within the first two weeks. And then the next two weeks are just ultra-processed foods, which are high in sugar and salt. Read more about Dr. Robertson’s efforts to improve oral health in rural areas Voices from the Field.
Study Links Lack of Oral Health Care with Pregnancy Complications
A new study links a lack of oral health care with complications during pregnancy. The study, “Use of Oral Health Services Among Pregnant Women and Associations with Gestational Diabetes and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy,” was recently featured in the Journal of the American Dental Association. The study found that fewer than 40% of women seek preventive oral health care during pregnancy. Women who did not receive preventive oral health care or visit a dentist or dental clinic for oral health problems during pregnancy had an increased risk of gestational diabetes and hypertensive disorders.
With Few Dentists and Fluoride Under Siege, Rural America Risks New Surge of Tooth Decay
In the wooded highlands of northern Arkansas, where small towns have few dentists, water officials who serve more than 20,000 people have for more than a decade openly defied state law by refusing to add fluoride to the drinking water.
For its refusal, the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority has received hundreds of state fines amounting to about $130,000, which are stuffed in a cardboard box and left unpaid, said Andy Anderson, who is opposed to fluoridation and has led the water system for nearly two decades.
This Ozark region is among hundreds of rural American communities that face a one-two punch to oral health: a dire shortage of dentists and a lack of fluoridated drinking water, which is widely viewed among dentists as one of the most effective tools to prevent tooth decay. But as the anti-fluoride movement builds unprecedented momentum, it may turn out that the Ozarks were not behind the times after all.
“We will eventually win,” Anderson said. “We will be vindicated.”
Fluoride, a naturally occurring mineral, keeps teeth strong when added to drinking water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Dental Association. But the anti-fluoride movement has been energized since a government report last summer found a possible link between lower IQ in children and consuming amounts of fluoride that are higher than what is recommended in American drinking water. Dozens of communities have decided to stop fluoridating in recent months, and state officials in Florida and Texas have urged their water systems to do the same. Utah is poised to become the first state to ban it in tap water.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long espoused fringe health theories, has called fluoride an “industrial waste” and “dangerous neurotoxin” and said the Trump administration will recommend it be removed from all public drinking water.
Free Autism Resources Available for Dental and Medical Offices
The ASERT Collaborative (Autism Services, Education, Resources and Training) is a statewide partnership that provides streamlined access to information for Pennsylvanians living with and impacted by autism.
The ASERT website hosts resources covering a wide range of topics for parents, self-advocates, professionals, and community members while also providing information on statewide events, support groups, and free online training opportunities. To request free ASERT brochures in English or Spanish for your office, email info@paautism.org.
Click here to view an informational flyer.
Click here to learn more about ASERT.
New Oral Health Brief Published: What Happens if Adult Medicaid Goes Away
The American Dental Association (ADA) released a new research brief, “What Happens if Adult Medicaid Dental Goes Away?” This resource outlines the cost implications of eliminating the adult dental Medicaid benefit.
If federal aid to state Medicaid programs is reduced, states will face considerable budgetary challenges to keep Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled and provided with the same level of services. This resource looks at the estimated costs due to emergency department visits for dental conditions, unmet periodontal needs among pregnant beneficiaries, and beneficiaries with diabetes and coronary artery disease.
Pennsylvania Department of Health Seeks Oral Health Plan Advisory Group Nominations
The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) is accepting nominations and applications for dedicated oral health stakeholders to serve on the Pennsylvania Oral Health Plan Advisory Group (OHPAG). Representatives will be selected from one of the nine sectors outlined in the Pennsylvania Oral Health Plan 2020-2030. To nominate a candidate or yourself, please download the application, complete it, and submit it along with a resume and/or CV to c-jmcdanie@pa.gov. The application deadline is May 5 at 4 pm and selected members will be notified via email by May 30.
The OHPAG plays a critical role in guiding the implementation of Pennsylvania Oral Health Plan, identifying priorities, and fostering collaboration among stakeholders to improve oral health across the state. Members will have the opportunity to provide strategic input, share expertise, and support initiatives aimed at enhancing oral health outcomes for all Pennsylvanians. DOH encourages nominations from representatives from public health, dental and medical providers, community organizations, academia, insurers, policymakers, individuals with lived experience, and others. A commitment to advancing oral health equity and a willingness to actively participate in meetings are essential.
Please contact Dr. Jonise McDaniel with any questions.
Click here to view the guidelines.
Click here to download the nomination form.
New CE Course Lunched! Integration and Coordination to Improve Patient Experience
The CareQuest Institute for Oral Health is offering a new self-paced course on their website, “Integration and Coordination to Improve the Patient Experience.” The course explores dental care coordination and integrated care as critical components in addressing systemic issues that affect patient outcomes. It offers 1 CEU for dental providers.
Pennsylvania Oral Health Coalition Publishes Annual Report
We are pleased to announce the release of our 2024 Impact Report. Thank you to all of our stakeholders, partners, and funders for making this work possible. We look forward to working collaboratively to improve oral health in 2025 and beyond!
Click here to access the report!
Reducing Sugar-Sweetened and Acidic Beverage Consumption: Pilot Project
The PA Coalition for Oral Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Health Oral Health Program are working together on a multimedia communications campaign for 11–17-year-olds on reducing sugar-sweetened and acidic beverage consumption in certain PA counties.
The project is multifaceted, consisting of a social media campaign, as well as print materials to be displayed in-office/in the waiting room, and an interactive demonstration. They are looking for clinics in Allegheny, Berks, Centre, Clarion, Crawford, Jefferson, Lancaster, or Lehigh counties that would be able to display the print materials and conduct the interactive demonstration at one community event this spring. If spacing is an issue, the sugar-sweetened beverage materials and acid materials can be displayed separately.
The PA Coalition for Oral Health are asking that materials be displayed from March 3, 2025- May 30, 2025, and that during at least one community event during that time, you complete the acid interactive demonstration. All materials will be mailed to you free of charge and are yours to keep at the end of the campaign. The materials that would be displayed in your office/waiting room are:
- One 40×29 tri-fold display board on sugar-sweetened beverages
- One 8.5×11 poster (with built-in easel) on acidity in drinks
- A stack of rack-card sized flyers on acidity in drinks
- A stack of 8.5×11 flyers: Tips for Healthy Sips
- A stack of 8.5×11 flyers: What Should Kids Drink
- A stack of 8.5×11 flyers: A Student Guide to Sugary Drinks
Please email Lia BenYishay by Wednesday, Feb.26, 2025 if you’re interested or if you have any follow-up questions.
Why Oral Health Needs a Home in Medical Education
The Academy at Harvard Medical School is hosting “Why Oral Health Needs a Home in Medical Education” this Thursday, January 30th at 5 pm ET as part of their Medical Education Grand Rounds series. They will cover the importance of oral health content in undergraduate and graduate medical education, review the history of medical-dental education, and preview future opportunities.