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Oral health is overall health. It’s more than a mantra, and nothing drives that fact home more than the research done in 2024 by CareQuest Institute. A few key findings from popular reports published this year show: 

As 2024 comes to an end, the road to creating a better oral health care system continues. Yes, we saw roadblocks and detours, but we also made tremendous progress as a community committed to change. 

We feel fortunate to have nearly 28,000 CareQuest Institute for Oral Health LinkedIn followers. And because our mission is to improve the oral health of all, we have a wide range of followers — everyone from dentists, dental hygienists, and students to policymakers, researchers, and countless stakeholders who want to see a better oral health system. 

  Minimally invasive dentistry (MID) is a philosophy of care that emphasizes prevention and seeks to preserve as much healthy tooth structure as possible. And it’s growing in popularity. 

They’ve served our country, putting their lives on the line, yet many can’t even access basic, necessary oral health care services. 

By Kelly Schroeder, RDH, MS, Evaluation Specialist, CareQuest Institute 

It’s essential to meet patients where they are — whether that means bringing a mobile clinic to their school or making an effort to understand their language.That was one theme from a recent webinar, “Advancing Equity in Hispanic and Latino Communities: Strategies to Integrate Compassionate Care,” from CareQuest Institute and the Hispanic Dental Association (HDA). The webinar, which drew nearly 500 learners, covered innovative approaches to serving Latino and Hispanic populations, leadership development within these communities, and the importance of cultural humility.

By Madison Vinson, MSHI, Data Engineer, and Caroline McLeod, RDH, MS, Value-Based Solutions Manager, CareQuest Institute

Thanos Zavras, DDS, MS, DMSc, knows that dentistry is not a one-size-fits-all treatment, especially for people with disabilities. “While the art and science of dentistry has made significant progress, along with major technological breakthroughs such as digital imaging, digital dentistry, and so much more,” he says, “access to dental care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) remains problematic.” 

For far too many people in this country, oral health care is too expensive and out of reach — even though we know it is critically important to overall health. And for far too long, despite strong support from voters, candidates and policymakers have consistently put “access to oral health” on the backburner. This election cycle, we need to change that.