Results from CareQuest Institute’s 2023 State of Oral Health Equity in America annual survey show that oral health disparities persist in the US, and that discrimination and socioeconomic factors are two leading contributors.
June 27, 2023
June 22, 2023
The official end of the COVID-19 public health emergency has kicked off a nationwide "unwinding" of coverage that had previously been renewing automatically. This includes pandemic-era Medicaid dental coverage which had been used by almost 14 million Americans, including over 2.3 million people in my native California.
Previous reports from CareQuest Institute have analyzed why and how frequently adults visit an emergency department (ED) for dental conditions that could be best treated in a dental setting. This report is the first to explore children’s use of EDs for non-traumatic dental conditions (NTDCs), finding that Florida had the highest rate of ED visits for children and the highest average charge for these visits, compared to all other states for which data is available.
June 22, 2023
When patients fill out a form at a dentist’s or doctor’s office, do they see themselves represented? For individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or have other sexual orientations or gender identities (LGBTQ+), the answer can sometimes be a hard “no.”
And it’s an example of a larger problem in oral health: Structural bias and stigma around gender, gender expression, and sexual orientation can deepen LGBTQ+ oral health inequity.
All dental teams want to provide better care and a better experience for their patients. Not all teams, however, know how to use the quality improvement methods and tools that lead to those positive changes.
Oral health is about more than a pretty smile. The benefits of good oral health extend to overall health, self-esteem, and quality of life. And the risks of poor oral health can be particularly severe for older adults.
June 20, 2023
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but for two oral health care teams in North Carolina, it’s the numbers that are invaluable.
“Data gives you a concrete picture of your practice,” says Rebecca Sykes, DDS, the dental director for Wake County Department of Health and Human Services Dental Clinic, a local health department, in North Carolina.
Disparities in oral health that affect the most vulnerable populations in the US particularly impact Latino communities, which now represent nearly 19% of the total US population. In this comprehensive white paper and gallery report, the Hispanic Dental Association (HDA), in partnership with CareQuest Institute, identifies several key policies that can improve oral health and reduce inequalities among Hispanics in the US.