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The work to achieve CareQuest Institute’s goals — to create a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system — takes daily dedication, coordination, and creativity from stakeholders inside and outside of the organization. Much of that work is done by a team of dynamic female leaders. In fact, of the 19 executive and senior leaders in the organization, 15 are women — a strength we highlight in the final line of this blog post.

It was one of those questions, one of those statements, that echoes long after an event concludes. “Go back to the simple question,” said Chelsea Chokas, MSM, a US Navy veteran and a project coordinator at CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. “‘Have you ever served?’ That’s a simple thing a doctor could ask in order to assess and give the best care.”

Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges, a follow-up to the Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health in America in 2000, was released in January. The nearly 800-page report, which includes writing and research from more than 400 contributors, explores the nation’s oral health during the past two decades. Why is the report significant? What might it mean for the oral health industry?

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health researchers recently published an article in the Journal of the American Dental Association that offers one of the most in-depth explorations of lifetime spending on oral health care. The article appeared on the cover of the February 2022 issue, a signal of its importance to understanding how different populations access and receive care during their lives.

Last month, the Diverse Dental Society (DDS) announced LaVette C. Henderson, CMP, HMCC, FACD, as its new president for 2022.

Black History Month, first recognized during the celebration of the United States Bicentennial in 1976, gives us the chance to look back on the countless accomplishments of Black Americans. It’s a time to reflect on the individuals who, through innovation, invention, and courage, helped shape our country.  

Medicaid — the health care program jointly funded by states and the federal government to provide comprehensive health care services to 75 million people nationwide — guarantees comprehensive dental benefits for children. The same is not true for adults, though. Adults who rely on the program are often forced to make difficult decisions about seeing a dentist, going to an emergency department (ED), or wondering how much pain they can endure.  

In 2021, we created a series of blog posts that highlights individuals who are working to improve the oral health system. From providers and policymakers to advocates and patients, our goal is to provide a snapshot of the backgrounds, ideas, successes, challenges, and daily lives of people who are making oral health care more accessible, equitable, and integrated.  

When Bosco Jerez returned from Iraq, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dental care wasn’t his top priority. “During that time, I didn’t take care of my teeth like I should have been because I had other things on my mind,” says Jerez, a veteran from Virginia. “And of course, I didn’t have dental insurance to take care of it.”

Roughly 19 million veterans live in the US, comprising about 6% of the total population. Those veterans are more likely to experience worse oral health outcomes — higher rates of tooth decay, higher rates of gum disease, and an increased need for restorative dental care — compared to nonveterans. A new white paper from CareQuest Institute and the American Institute of Dental Public Health (AIDPH) aims to shine a light on the social, structural, and individual drivers of these outcomes.