- Struggling to Adapt
- Rural Governments Often Fail To Communicate With Residents Who Aren't Proficient in English
- Prescription Delivery in Missouri Faces Delays under USPS Rural Service Plan
- Mental Health Association Launches Hub To Help Rural Residents
- Creating a Clearer Path to Rural Heart Health
- USDA Announces New Federal Order, Begins National Milk Testing Strategy to Address H5N1 in Dairy Herds
- Getting Rural Parents Started On Their Breastfeeding Journey
- Number of U.S. Hospitals Offering Obstetric Care Is Declining
- NRHA Announces 2025 Rural Health Fellows
- Lack of Civic Infrastructure Drives Rural Health Disparities
- New RSV Drug Delivers Promising Results in Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
- VA: Solicitation of Nomination for Appointment to the Veterans' Rural Health Advisory Committee
- EOP: National Rural Health Day, 2024
- Distance, Workforce Shortages Complicate Mental Health Access in Rural Nevada Communities
- After Helene, Clinician Teams Brought Critical Care To Isolated WNC Communities
Survey Shows Dentists Are Receptive to Teledentistry
Telehealth has become a path to provide safe, efficient, and accessible dental care during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey of nearly 3,000 dentists conducted by the DentaQuest Partnership reveals that the oral health care system is ready to implement teledentistry as a viable tool to deliver preventative care, not only during the pandemic, but long-term. The results can be narrowed down by teledentistry usage type, state, financial considerations, and opportunities for growth.
Parent Handouts on COVID-19 and Oral Health
The National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC) released two new resources for parents of young children from the Office of Head Start’s National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness (NCECHW). The handouts provide clear messages with photos about healthy eating and oral hygiene practices at home and about changes to dental offices to promote the safety of staff and patients during COVID-19. The colorful handouts are available in English and Spanish.
Pennsylvania Board of Dentistry Proposes Changes to PHDHP Practice Sites
The Pennsylvania State Board of Dentistry recently submitted a final-form regulation on public health dental hygiene practitioner (PHDHP) practice sites to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC). The regulation expands access to care and oral health education provided by PHDHPs by adding additional facilities regulated by the Department of Human Services, and by adding as an acceptable practice site an office, including a satellite office, or clinic of a physician who is licensed by the State Board of Medicine or the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine that is located in a dental health professional shortage area, as determined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. The final regulation will be considered by IRRC at its public meeting on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020.
COVID-19 Oral Health Resources for School Nurses Available
During the current COVID-19 pandemic, school nurses may be the only avenue for assuring that children receive oral health screenings and referrals. The Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) and the National Association of School Nurses have collaborated to develop resources for school nurses: “Considerations for School Nurses in Return to School: Dental Screenings” and “School Nurses: The Key to Good Oral Health During COVID-19 Infographic.” Please share with any school nurses you know.
Click here to download “Considerations” document.
Click here to download the infographic.
Parent Handouts on COVID-19 and Oral Health Available
The National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC) released two new resources for parents of young children from the Office of Head Start’s National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness (NCECHW). The handouts provide clear messages with photos about healthy eating and oral hygiene practices at home and about changes to dental offices to promote the safety of staff and patients during COVID-19. The colorful handouts are available in English and Spanish.
Click here to download the English version.
Click here to download the Spanish Version.
A Three Domain Framework to Innovating Oral Health Care Announced
Change in oral health is long overdue and COVID-19 has brought the system’s issues to the forefront. Now is the time for change. PCOH joins more than 110 oral health leaders in support of a new approach developed by the DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement. “A Three Domain Framework to Innovating Oral Health Care” emphasizes overall health as an outcome and is more cost-effective, efficient, and equitable.
Nicotine Dependence and Oral Health Professionals
Have you taken the “Nicotine Dependence Treatment Strategies for Oral Health Professionals” course? PCOH’s newly updated course portal makes it easier than ever! Free CEUs are available. Also, if you would like to get connected to the tobacco coalition in your county/region, please reach out to Paula Di Gregory of Nicotine Free Northwest PA for an introduction. You can also look up your regional tobacco use and prevention cessation primary contractor for the Department of Health below.
Click here to take the course.
Click here to contact Paula Di Gregory.
Click here to look up your regional primary contractor.
Updated Pennsylvania Oral Health Coalition Website Launched
PCOH is excited to share our updated website! While parts of the site may look familiar, there are cool improvements. The new resource page is searchable and has advanced filters so that you can find exactly what you are looking for. The updated course portal provides a more user-friendly continuing education experience. Don’t just take our word for it, check it out!
New Framework for Transforming Oral Health Care
The DentaQuest Partnership wants to know if you are ready to transform the oral health care system? They are proposing an innovative new Framework that focuses on prevention and healthy outcomes, facilitates value-based payment models, and addresses the deep inequities in care and access. They are inviting oral health leaders to join along with 110 other oral health leaders that have contributed to this framework and are ready for this transformation. Click here to explore the Domains Framework and learn more.
Oral Health Education for Patients and the Chance to Win Prizes
Oral health education, be it in the classroom through school-based oral health or during the well-child visit that many families postponed, has been affected due to the current pandemic. DentaQuest and America’s ToothFairy have developed a program to help bridge that gap – just in time for Dental Hygiene Month. It is the Oral Health Action Hero Challenge that gives children a fun way to learn about good oral health habits – and win prizes – from home. Now until Nov. 9 children can complete three missions to defeat the new super-villain, BioFilm, and his gang of nasty bacteria. Finalists can win a variety of prizes, and the ultimate winner will take home a Nintendo Switch gaming console. Watch a quick video, read the press release and share the registration link with your patients!