In the News

A visual report from the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health in 2021 explores reasons why it believes teledentistry is here to stay.

Myechia Minter-Jordan, president and CEO of the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, moderated the panel and asked the panelists what the business case was for correcting the inequity trends.

According to data from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, where I am CEO and president, 77 million adults in the U.S. lack dental benefits. Medicaid dental coverage for adults is one of the few options available for low-income families who are seeking oral health care. Yet 47 state Medicaid programs do not offer dental benefits sufficient to maintain optimal oral health.

And plenty of people are paying out-of-pocket: Some 77 million American adults did not have dental insurance last year, according to a survey on inequities in oral health care run by the nonprofit CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.

In contrast, earlier this year CareQuest Institute for Oral Health®, a non-profit focused on contributing to a better national oral health system, released a report suggesting several oral health risks associated with the use of e-cigarettes. Among these health risks, says the report, are gum disease, dental decay, bone loss, and hairy tongue. The paper said that medical professionals need to educate their patients about these risks, however it did not compare the relative benefits for users when they switch from smoking cigarettes.

Florida is the top state for non-trauma related pediatric emergency room visits, according to the nonprofit CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. That situation is set to become worse, with 14 million adults across the country -- including 764,199 in Florida -- expected to lose oral health coverage due to states redetermining the eligibility of their Medicaid populations.

Kaz Rafia - Chief Health Equity Officer at CareQuest Institute for Oral Health (Boston) Mr. Rafia is the inaugural chief health equity officer at CareQuest, which he has successfully transitioned into a sustainable and impactful grantmaking institution. In his role, is particularly focused on increasing health equity, Medicare and Medicaid advocacy, safety net clinics and healthcare workforce support. He is active in the Health Equity Compact and contributes to their efforts towards health equity in the state of Massachusetts. 

The shortage was cited in a report released earlier this year describing the “disproportionate burden” of oral health disease faced by American Indians and Native Alaskans in the U.S. from childhood onward, a crisis it said was rooted in structural racism and exacerbated by a lack of access to healthy food and stable housing.

A recent white paper from the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, the Society of American Indian Dentists (SAID), and the National Indian Health Board’s (NIHB) Tribal Oral Health Initiative helps explain why.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system, has awarded more than $2.7 million in grant funds so far this year to help advance equity through oral health. The grants, awarded to nine organizations, support on-the-ground efforts across the country to dismantle unjust structures and systems that drive disparities related to access to care, treatment, and outcomes.