Background
Children’s Dental Health Project. (2011). ACA: Fulfilling the Pledge to Improve America’s Oral Health.
These two briefs address the benefits of full funding and implementation of the oral health-related provisions in the Affordable Care Act.
Institute of Medicine. Dental Care Series.
The IOM conducted a series of workshops from 2009-2011 focusing on quality of care, access, and workforce issues affecting the dental industry:
Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations;
Advancing Oral Health in America; and
The U.S. Oral Health Workforce in the Coming Decade.
Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. (2012). Dental Care Resources.
KCMU released a series of briefs focusing on dental care for
children,
low-income adults, and
Medicare beneficiaries. These briefs were released in conjunction with a KCMU event,
Filling the Gaps: Dental Care, Coverage, and Access.
National Health Law Program. (2012).
Dental Coverage for Low-Income Pregnant Women.
This issue brief discusses the importance of comprehensive oral health care during pregnancy; explains the status of dental coverage for pregnant women under Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Affordable Care Act (ACA); and recommends strategies to expand dental coverage for low-income adult pregnant women.
National Health Law Program. (2012).
Improving Oral Health Care: ACA Initiatives and IOM Recommendations.
This issue brief describes the problem of poor oral health care in America, as well as the solutions suggested by a 2011 Institute of Medicine report and the provisions of the ACA intended to positively impact oral health care in America.
Coverage and Access to Services
Choi, MK. The Impact of Medicaid Insurance Coverage on Dental Service Use. Journal of Health Economics 2011; 30(5): 1020-1031.
This article examines the causal relationship between access to adult Medicaid dental benefits and usage of dental services for low-income adults to reveal state-level variation in adult Medicaid dental benefits.
Government Accountability Office. (2009).
State and Federal Actions Have Been Taken to Improve Children’s Access to Dental Services, But Gaps Remain.
In this report, the GAO examined state strategies to monitor and improve access to dental care for children in Medicaid and CMS actions since 2007 to improve oversight of Medicaid dental services for children.
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. (2009).
Trends in Child Health 1997-2006: Assessing Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Unmet Dental Needs.
The Center analyzed selected child health indicators by sociodemographic characteristics of the families in which the children reside. This brief examines the disparities in unmet dental care needs due to cost.
Kenney, GM, J Marton, AE Klein, JE Pelletier, and J Talbert.
The Effects of Medicaid and CHIP Policy Changes on Receipt of Preventive Care among Children. Health Services Research 2011; 46(1), Part II: 298-318.
This study examines changes in children's receipt of well-child and preventive dental care in Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in two states that adopted policies aimed at promoting greater preventive care receipt.
Manski,R.J. & P.F. Cooper.
Characteristics of Employers Offering Dental Coverage in the United States.
Journal of the American Dental Association 2010; 414(6): 700-711.
The authors examined the 2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Insurance Component and described the number and percentage of establishments that offered dental insurance as a workplace benefit.
Pourat, N., and Finocchio, L.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Dental Care for Publicly Insured Children.
Health Affairs 2010; 29(7): 1356-1363.
This article examines disparities in access to dental care between Latino and African American children and White children.
Workforce
Pourat, N., Roby, D.H., Wyn, R., Marcus, M. (2007). Characteristics of Dentists Providing Dental Care to Publicly Insured Patients. Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 67(4), 208-216.
This study aims to identify the practice and patient care characteristics of dentists who provide care to publicly insured patients, beyond currently available existing information, which is typically limited to demographics of such dentists.
Vargas, C., et al.
Oral Health Status of Rural Adults in the United States.
JADA 2002; 133: 1672-1681. This study examines disparities in oral health and access to care between rural and urban areas and provides estimates for insurance coverage, unmet care needs, frequency of dental visits, and rates of oral health problems.
Wanchek, T.
Dental Hygiene Regulation and Access to Oral Healthcare: Assessing the Variation Across the U.S. States.
British Journal of Industrial Relations 2010; 48(4): 706-725.
This study examines the relationship between state-level practice regulations for dental hygienists and the impact on access to dental services.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (2012).
A Review of the Global Literature on Dental Therapists: In the Context of the Movement to Add Dental Therapists to the Oral Health Workforce in the United States.
The report discusses the role of the services dental therapists provide, the evidence of their efficacy, and public opinion about these professionals.