In the News

The CareQuest Institute, a nonprofit that focuses on equitable care, reports millions of Americans lost their dental insurance from Medicaid last fall, adding to the more than 68 million adults who don't have dental insurance. Watch news clip and read full article here....

Medical-dental integration is a critical component designed to enhance and broaden the oral health care delivery model. MORE Care® is a framework for communities to leverage their resources and relationships by providing tools and resources to integrate preventive oral health services into primary care settings. This report will show how local...

In a report released earlier this year, researchers from the American Institute of Dental Public Health and CareQuest Institute found higher rates of dental problems among veterans than their civilian peers, including issues with tooth decay (56% among veterans versus 37% in the general population) and gum disease (42% versus 27%). Read the...

Dr. Minter-Jordan is an internal medicine physician and the president and CEO of the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. Dr. Simon is an associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a fellow in oral health and medicine integration at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine in Boston. Both doctors recently spoke with Becker's about...

Dr. Minter-Jordan recently spoke with Becker's about what medical-dental integration efforts can learn from the behavioral health field and the factors that will support medical-dental integration in the future. Read the full story...

Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD, and Lisa Simon, MD, DMD, recently joined two dentists to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions about how to improve dental care affordability and accessibility. Read the full story...

Good oral health is crucial for overall well-being, yet access to high-quality care remains a persistent challenge for many Virginians. Virginia's Medicaid program offers comprehensive dental coverage to all members, for example, but slightly more than half of enrolled children saw a dentist last year — and even fewer adults received care....

What’s more, one 2023 study found that individuals with periodontal disease may have a higher risk of certain chronic respiratory diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, at least one preventative dental visit within three years may reduce the risk of ventilator-acquired pneumonia by as much as 22%, according to...

Unfortunately, fewer than half of pregnant women nationally have their teeth cleaned during pregnancy. Black women are 14% less likely to get their teeth cleaned during pregnancy than white women, even though data shows no difference in dental visits prior to pregnancy for those groups. Read the full story...

Half of Medicare beneficiaries did not visit the dentist during the past year because they couldn't afford to.  Melissa Burroughs of the advocacy group Care Quest says neglecting oral health can contribute to serious health issues in older people --- including Alzheimer's, heart disease, and diabetes.  Worse yet, traditional Medicare does not...

The correlation between poor dental health and poverty cannot be overlooked. Just last year, this “neglected epidemic” saw nearly 69 million U.S. adults without dental insurance, according to a survey by the nonprofit CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. Read the full story...

Nearly half of children covered by Medicaid or CHIP receive at least one dental service within the year compared with only one-fifth of adult Medicaid enrollees, reflecting differences in coverage policies for children and adults. Read the full story...