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2011 General Assembly Update
The General Assembly has passed the budget. It RESTORES the 4% Medicaid dental provider cuts - meaning the cuts are avoided and the reimbursement rates will remain the same. In addition to the budget, there was a host of legislation pertinent to oral health this session. For a full update, please visit the advocacy section of the Virginia Oral Health Coalition website.
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Virginia Oral Health Plan
It is official! The Virginia Oral Health Plan, a living document of objectives that provides a road map to bring excellent oral health to all Virginians, has been approved by the Virginia Oral Health Coalition board of directors. The objectives outlined in this plan were identified by stakeholders from throughout the Commonwealth, beginning with the Oral Health Summit in October of 2009 and continuing through workgroup meetings and coalition meetings over the course of the last year. More information about the Virginia Oral Health Plan, as well as a list of the objectives, is available on the Virginia Oral Health Coalition website.
The plan is not a stagnant document, nor is it designed to sit on a shelf. Objectives will be updated and refined continuously so they best reflect the needs and environment of the Commonwealth. If you are interested in joining one of the workgroups associated with the Virginia Oral Health Plan, please contact Sarah Holland.
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Virginia Dental Home Initiative - Abingdon
The next Virginia Dental Home Initiative (VDHI) Training is March 25th in Abingdon, VA. VDHI training provides an opportunity for dental professionals and Head Start Educators to come together to learn strategies and techniques to both provide oral health care to young children and to teach the importance of a lifetime of good oral health to children and their caregivers. The Virginia Dental Home Initiative was created to help break the cycle of poor oral health habits and ensure all Virginia kids have a dental home. For more information or to register for the Abingdon training, click here. The next Virginia Dental Home Initiative Training is planned for May in Northern Virginia. |
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Of Interest
Oral Health and School Attendance A recent article in the American Journal of Public Health online finds that children missed an average of .05 days of school for reasons related to oral health care, with 17 percent of the absences related to pain or infection. The study examines the impact of poor oral health status on school performance. An abstract is available at: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/AJPH.2010.200915v1. Oral Health and Emergency Department Visits Washington State Hospital Association's Report on Emergency Room Use (October 2010) found that dental complaints are the #1 reason for non insured adults to seek emergency department care, and the 6th most common reason patients with Medicaid seek emergency department care. (The section on Dental Disorder and Tooth Root Access discusses the ER costs related to these conditions). Click here for a PDF of the full report. Dental Champions Dr. Tegwyn Brickhouse, chair of the Virginia Oral Health Coalition and the Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Pediatric Dentistry, is featured in this month's American Academy of Pediatrics newsletter as a dental champion for children http://www.aap.org/oralhealth/enews.cfm. |
