In the News

It's no secret that underserved communities score poorly on just about every measure of oral health. In steps Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, the head of the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, a Boston-based organization that aims to stem these inequities through a variety of grants and awards.

Recent data from CareQuest shows that about 12 million adults and children lost their dental coverage between April and September of 2023, with an additional two million people estimated to have lost coverage between September and December 2023.

This month, several dental industry leaders spoke with Becker's about the most pressing issues and trends in the field, including DSO consolidation, cybersecurity threats and medical-dental integration.

This model focuses on preventive care, patient satisfaction, and long-term health benefits, aiming to improve overall dental health and reduce costs associated with extensive treatments. By prioritizing effective treatments and patient-centered care, value-based dentistry seeks to deliver better health outcomes, enhance patient experiences, and foster a more sustainable health care system, according to Danielle Apostolon, program manager and value-based care expert at CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.

CareQuest concluded that more solutions are needed to improve dental care accessibility in the U.S. Some of these solutions include expanding adult dental coverage under Medicaid and increasing provider participation in Medicaid, CareQuest said.

A new Care Quest Institute for Oral Health® report shows that poorer families paid 7.4 times more in out-of-pocket expenditures for dental care compared to high-income families between 2007 and 2021. The report, “Lower-Income Families Still Spend More on Dental Care,” also reveals that families living in poverty and those with lower incomes were less likely to have visited a dentist in the past year compared to families with higher incomes in the U.S.

"In the U.S., inequalities in unmet dental needs and care costs persist across income groups, with out-of-pocket costs rising significantly among lower-income families in recent years. The new report was released by the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health."

"The CareQuest Institute for Oral Health warned in April 2023 that more than 14 million adults could lose their dental coverage as part of the redetermination process. Recent analysis from the organization shows that about 12 million adults and children lost their dental coverage between April and September of 2023."

More than 56 million Americans reside in areas with a shortage of dental professionals, and over 68 million adults lack dental insurance, creating substantial barriers to accessing care.5 Marginalized populations are disproportionately affected by these shortages, exacerbating existing disparities in oral health outcomes. A diverse dental workforce is necessary to better understand and respond to the unique cultural and socioeconomic needs of these communities, fostering trust and improving patient engagement.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health’s mission is to improve the oral health of all. One way to achieve this is through programmatic initiatives, which train dental clinics to provide equitable, integrated and accessible care for their communities. The Community Oral Health Transformation (COrHT) Initiative, allowed CareQuest Institute to collaborate with the North Carolina Oral Health Collaboration (NCOHC) and Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of North Carolina Foundation to implement and support the initiative in North Carolina.