Articles from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health

According to new data released today by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health®, adults with disabilities face major barriers to accessing oral health care and are at greater risk for poor oral health outcomes.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health®, a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system, released a new report that provides crucial insights into how pregnancy-related changes can be linked to oral and mental health. The data-driven report emphasizes the critical need for integrated health care approaches that connect medical, dental, and behavioral health services.

A new report released today by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® finds that adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at greater risk for poor oral health than adults without ADHD.

A new national poll shows that the vast majority of voters across the political spectrum favor adding dental coverage to Medicare. The results of the poll, commissioned by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® and the Oral Health Progress and Equity Network (OPEN), show that more than 9 in 10 national voters (92%) support adding a dental benefit to Medicare.

Revealing deep health disparities based on income, a new CareQuest 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. At the same time, 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 US.

Today, Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD, MBA, President and CEO of CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® — a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system — testified before the Senate HELP Committee about dental care affordability and accessibility.

A new analysis from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® — a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system — reveals that 12 million people across the country lost Medicaid dental coverage between April 2023, when the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) expired, and September 2023. That figure includes 5.9 million adults and 6.1 million children. The analysis estimates the number will jump to 13.9 million when data is received through December 31, 2023.

Veterans across the US face significant challenges in accessing dental care, which influences their overall well-being and productivity, according to a new report by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health and the American Institute of Dental Public Health (AIDPH). The report finds that lack of access to dental care leads to significant losses in productivity time and money for veterans and their employers.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® has released a new report that shows that adults 18 and older in the US lose more than 243 million work or school hours annually due to oral health problems. The lost productivity time due to untreated dental disease costs the US an estimated $45 billion each year.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health®, a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system, released a new report detailing the causes of worsening oral health access and outcomes for rural populations in comparison with their urban and suburban counterparts.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health®, a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system, released new data showing that discrimination and socioeconomic factors are leading contributors to persistent oral health disparities in the US.

An estimated 68.5 million adults in the United States do not have dental insurance, according to new data released today by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health®. This data, which comes from the third annual State of Oral Health Equity in America (SOHEA) survey, also reveals that the number of adults without dental coverage could rise significantly by the end of 2023 due to additional household members losing coverage and the Medicaid redetermination process.

The Hispanic Dental Association (HDA) and CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® recently released a comprehensive white paper on oral health disparities in Hispanic communities. “Addressing the Oral Health Needs of Hispanics in the US” identifies several key policies that can improve oral health and reduce inequities among Hispanics in the US, which now represent nearly 19% of the total population.

As the use of dangerous at-home health remedies continues to gain traction on social media, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health®, a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system, is warning people about the dangers of treating oral pain at home. The new report reveals that more than half (53.8%) of adults in the US do not have consistent access to dental care and may resort to self-prescribed home remedies, which are not always safe. In fact, half of the adults who experienced an oral health problem in the last year used a home remedy to try to alleviate the problem.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® — a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system — released a new report urging states to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage from 60 days to at least 12 months to help improve health equity and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes.

A new analysis from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® — a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system — reveals that more than 14 million people across the country may lose dental coverage under the Medicaid redetermination process that began on April 1.

Today, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health®, the Society of American Indian Dentists (SAID), and the National Indian Health Board’s (NIHB) Tribal Oral Health Initiative released a white paper on oral health disparities in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health®, a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system, released a report that points to a variety of oral health risks associated with the use of e-cigarettes, including gum disease, dental decay, bone loss, and hairy tongue.

The Oral Health Response Workgroup, a collection of leaders and organizations from across the dental industry, is calling on Congress to improve oral health equity and access by including extensive adult dental benefits in all state Medicaid programs.

Last month, the American Medical Association (AMA) approved a new category III CPT code for the application of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) by medical teams to arrest dental decay without a dental filling. The addition of this code is a milestone in improving access to dental care and, ultimately, helping more people achieve better oral health.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health®, in partnership with the American Dental Association (ADA) Health Policy Institute, Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc., and the National Academy of State Health Policy (NASHP), announced the release of an innovative new resource to better assess and understand the extensiveness of Medicaid adult dental coverage in each state.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® — a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system — today announced that Kaz Rafia, DDS, MBA, MPH, has been named as the organization's first Chief Health Equity Officer.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® — a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system — today released new data on racial and ethnic disparities in oral health care from its second annual State of Oral Health Equity in America survey. The organization is advocating for improvements in dental coverage to reduce health disparities that can lead to significant consequences within and beyond oral health.

Today, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® — a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system — applauded members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives for urging the Administration to expand access to medically necessary dental care under the Medicare program.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® has partnered with the Journal of Public Health Dentistry (JPHD) to release a special issue this month on anti-racist solutions in dental public health. JPHD is published on behalf of the American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD).

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® released new data on inequities in oral health care from the second annual State of Oral Health Equity in America survey in a webinar last week. According to the survey, 77 million adults in the US do not have dental insurance, and disparities in oral health exist for many populations, including people of color, low-income or uninsured people, and veterans.

American Institute of Dental Public Health and CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® today commended U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for filing amendments to help expand access to dental care for veterans. The amendments are being considered as part of the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® — a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system — released a new report during Mental Health Awareness Month that spotlights the growing link between mental health and oral health.

Two years after dental care was disrupted for millions of Americans, many are still not getting the dental care they need and disparities in oral health care persist, according to the results of an annual national survey from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® — a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system.

CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system, joined a nonpartisan group of organizations urging Congress to lift a federal funding ban that prohibits states and Tribal communities from accessing health workforce grants for dental therapy programs. The group, which includes more than 90 organizations, sent a letter to the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees asking for the elimination of this funding ban in the FY2023 appropriations bills.