Blog

By Caroline McLeod, MS, RDH, Value-Based Solutions Manager at CareQuest Institute, and Andrea Clark, MS, Director, Health Care Economics at CareQuest Institute al·ter·na·tive: of one or more things available as another possibility. Reusable water bottles as an alternative to single-use plastic bottles. Oat milk as an alternative to dairy milk. An electric toothbrush as an alternative to a manual toothbrush. 

In 2024, CareQuest Institute has awarded more than $8.3 million in grants to organizations that are helping underserved populations gain better access to oral health care. That work, core to CareQuest Institute’s DNA, is focused on the oral health system. Help, of course, is needed in other areas, too — in housing, in disease research, in community-based organizations that are committed to change. Every sector of society needs a boost. 

Robert MacArthur, DMD, is well aware of how a patient could feel uncomfortable sitting in a dental chair. “Dentistry is an extremely invasive profession,” MacArthur says. “It requires a lot of trust, and it’s really humbling when I put myself in the dental chair at least twice a year just for a regular cleaning. It’s good to be reminded of how invasive it can be.” 

Last month, the Oral Health Progress and Equity Network (OPEN) brought together 170 oral health advocates to discuss how to engage with candidates and the media this election season and raise oral health as a key issue. Experts in advocacy, community engagement, and media shared their insights and tips with attendees at the 2024 OPEN Advocacy Assembly. “It’s tough to find an issue like this in today’s America that has broad popularity,” said Peter Mitchell, chief insights officer at Marketing for Change. 

By Caroline McLeod, MS, RDH, Value-Based Solutions Manager at CareQuest Institute 

By Kaz Rafia, DDS, MBA, MPH, Chief Dental Officer and Executive Vice President of Health Equity, CareQuest Institute As we began creating self-paced courses for CareQuest Institute, we took a closer look at terminology in oral health care — terms like “value-based payment,” “fee-for-service,” “interoperability,” and “care coordination.” One phrase continued to give us pause and generate thoughtful discussion: social determinants of health. 

By Stacey Auger, MPH, policy consultant, CareQuest Institute Oral health has been in the national spotlight recently thanks to a May 16 hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). The focus of the hearing was the dental crisis facing the US and how to make dental care more affordable and available to all. 

As a filmmaker, Paul Gibbs tells other people’s stories for a living. He didn’t know his own story — about trying to access oral health care — would have such a profound impact. “My dental care experience turned out to be much more expensive, invasive, and painful than it needed to be,” Gibbs says. “And it was because while my doctors had recognized that oral health is part of the overall larger picture, my insurance didn’t.” 

In November 2020, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital (MVH) Dental Clinic, the only clinic on the island accepting Massachusetts Medicaid (MassHealth), closed, worsening health care disparities for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (WTGH). For many tribe members, including elders, removing local access to oral health care highlighted broader issues of limited provider availability, geographical isolation, and the challenges of traveling off-island for care. 

“If they had a job, they could get real insurance and afford to get their teeth fixed.” “People are lazy if they have state insurance. They’re not as educated as others.” “Anyone could go to the dentist if they wanted to. They are choosing not to or not prioritizing it.” These are common perceptions about patients who struggle to access oral health care — a frequent topic during Wisconsin Medical-Dental Integration (MDI) Advisory Council quarterly meetings.