The Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) released a “Dental Public Health 101” learning module. Dental Public Health focuses on dental and oral health issues in communities and populations rather than individuals.

Click here to download the resource.

In January 2020, the DentaQuest Partnership published an article in Decisions in Dentistry that evaluated Medicaid claims of alternative payment models (APMs) and fee for service (FFS).  Key takeaways from the their study demonstrated that:

• In 2016, the Center for Health Care Strategies noted “states may be able to use their purchasing power to encourage better access, quality and accountability in oral health care for children in Medicaid — particularly through contracting with dental plans.”
• This analysis of a national sample of Medicaid dental claims found an approximate 6% increase (from 27% to 33%) in dental claims associated with APMs from 2013 to 2017.
• The costs over the lifespan for APMs were lower than traditional FFS models, while utilization was better in the APM plans.
• Dental utilization in this sampling was highest during pediatric care and sharply declines within the 20s, before remaining low for the rest of the lifespan.

Exploring Alternative Payment Models for Oral Health Care

The National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center recently published the Fluoride Varnish and Silver Diamine Fluoride Resource Guide that was funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The guide is to help professionals and consumers learn more about these products to promote oral health and prevent oral disease by providing professional education and training, materials on data and surveillance and public education.

New Hampshire has passed House Bill 692/HB 4, adding a comprehensive adult dental benefit that will aid nearly 120,000 adult residents covered under both traditional and Medicaid expansion requirements. Open here to read the first in our blog series on States to Watch in 2020.

How does your state measure up in providing a comprehensive Medicaid adult dental benefit? Read DentaQuest’s latest brief, Healthy Mouths: Why They Matter for Adults and State Budgets, which explores the ways in which the lack of a comprehensive dental benefit can drain state budgets, and how adding this benefit can improve population and fiscal health.

There’s a lot on the oral health horizon in 2020. As we start a new year and a new decade, we can expect significant changes that will address the oral health industry’s biggest challenges and fundamentally change the way Americans access oral health care. From the first Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health in 20 years to disruptive technology, here’s what we’re watching.