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Virginia Oral Health Coalition

  Excellent Oral Health for ALL Virginians

In This Issue
Oral Health Summit Presentations Available Online
VHCF to Host Nov. 9 Tooth Talk Workshop
VaOHC Awarded Oral Health 2014 Grant
One-Hour Dentures - Potential Impact for Safety Net Clinics
Uninsured Largely Unaware of Upcoming ACA Benefits
UN Heads of State Adopt Declaration on Oral Diseases
Articles of Interest

VaOHC 2011 Oral Health Summit  Presentations Available Online

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The Coalition's 2011 Oral Health Summit "Bridging the Dental Gap: From Policy to Practice" was held on Friday, October 21, to a crowd of over 150 dental professionals and community stakeholders. Summit speakers addressed topics ranging from the pediatric dental benefit to workforce issues and oral health literacy.

 

The Summit presentations are now available on our website. The plenary session presentation given by Sarah Raskin, MPH, will be available online later this year.

 

View the Summit presentations

  

Thank you to our Premier Sponsors: Delta Dental of Virginia; DentaQuest,LLC; Small Smiles Dental Centers; and, Virginia Dental Association; and our Distinguished Sponsor: the Medical Society of Virginia.

 

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Virginia Health Care Foundation to Host Tooth Talk Workshop on November 9

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The Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) will host a special Tooth Talk workshop on Wednesday, November 9 that will address "best practices" in the dental safety net. The event will feature Dr. Mark Doherty, a national expert in Safety Net dentistry.

Registration and event information is available on the VHCF website.

October 2011 Bulletin

Virginia Oral Health Coalition Awarded $100k Grant for Medical and Dental Collaboration

 

Hand shakeThe Virginia Oral Health Coalition was one of only 20 nonprofit organizations in the country to receive a planning grant from the DentaQuest Foundation's Oral Health 2014 Initiative. The $100,000 grant will enable the Coalition and a broad base of traditional and nontraditional partners to identify solutions to improve oral health through increased collaboration between medical and dental providers throughout the state.The Coalition's application included support from over 20 partners throughout the state, and the Coalition is continuing to engage other partners. The planning process will focus on curriculum integration and successful practice models. 

 

Despite links between oral health and systemic disease, medical and dental care is typically provided separately and most medical and dental providers receive little cross-disciplinary education or referrals. 

 

If you would like to learn more, or participate in the process, please email Sarah Holland.  

 

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One-Hour Dentures Can Potentially Impact Safety Net Clinics

DenturesRetired oral and maxillofacial surgeon Lawrence Wallace, DDS, has created the "Larell One Step Denture" system that can fabricate a full set of dentures in one hour without the need for multiple visits or lab fees. The quick and cost-efficient system could have a huge impact at safety net clinics and in rural locations that serve those who are poor, un- or underinsured, or have transportation issues.

 

The Larell dentures are already in use at Mission of Mercy (MOM) projects in Virginia; the Virginia Health Care Foundation gave the Virginia Dental Association a grant to provide 100 units of the Larell dentures at the July 2011 MOM project in Wise County.  

 

Read more about the one-hour denture system and its implications

 

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Uninsured Largely Unaware of Upcoming Benefits Under the Affordable Care Act

 

Question markWith 32 million people estimated to gain coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many generally believe that the law will help the uninsured. In spite of this, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll shows only three in ten of the uninsured think the ACA will get them health care. Additionally, nearly half of uninsured respondents have no clear understanding of how they may benefit from the ACA, either positively or negatively.

 

The law does include provisions to help those with modest means pay for insurance, including tax credits for low- and moderate-income people, as well as an expanded Medicaid program for low income, able-bodied adults. But, nearly half of respondents were unaware of either of these benefits, with some responding that they didn't believe the benefits existed at all.

 

Read more about the Kaiser Family Foundation poll here

 

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UN Declaration Recognizes Oral Health's Relationship with Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer and Respiratory Disease

 

UN FlagIn September, a side event to the first UN Global Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases was held to educate the UN delegates on the relationship between oral diseases and the four major non-communicable disease of the Summit: heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease and diabetes. All 193 Member States adopted the declaration at the conclusion of the event and charged the World Health Organization (WHO) to establish targets and indicators and relate them to common risk factors, including sugar, sodium, trans and saturated fats, tobacco and alcohol.

 

The side event was hosted by H.E. Jakaya M. Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, and co-hosted by the Governments of Australia and Sweden, with the support of the WHO.

 

Read the full press release or view video of the event

 

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Of Interest

  

New Survey Shows Many Americans Find it Difficult to Get Free or Low-Cost Dental Care in their Communities

 

A new national survey conducted by Lake Research Partners for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation found that eight out of ten survey respondents believe it is difficult for people to get free or low-cost dental care in their communities. In addition, four out of ten respondents report that they had put off dental care in the past twelve months due to cost.

 

The survey was conducted as a follow-up to the July 2011 report released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) on oral health and dental care (previously reported in the July 2011 VaOHC newsletter). It should also be noted that many providers have questioned the survey's methodology.

 

Read W.K. Kellogg Foundation's press release 

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Topical Fluoride is Effective in Preventing Caries in Moderate and High Caries Risk Adults

  

The Journal of Public Health Dentistry recently published a systematic review of research studies showing that the use of supplemental self-applied and professionally applied fluoride in moderate and high caries risk adults is effective in preventing and/or remineralizing dental caries. The strongest studies revealed that low strength NaF rinses, 1.1% NaF pastes/gels and fluoride varnishes are moderately effective in higher caries risk adults.

 

Read more about the review 

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Survey Reveals Higher Rate of Exclusive Bottled Water Use Among Minority Children

 

Bottled WaterA cross-sectional survey published by the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Magazine shows that minority parents are more likely to exclusively give bottled water to their children. Results showed that minority children exclusively received bottled water three times more often than non-Latino white children. The survey concluded that disparities in bottled water use are driven largely by differences in beliefs and perceptions about water.

 

Read the article abstract  

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NY Study Confirms Water Fluoridation Benefits   

 

A study from New York used the New York State Medicaid program to determine if there is correlation between caries-related claims and county water system fluoridation coverage. Results of the study show that the mean number of restorative, endodontic and extraction coverage claims was 33.4% higher in less-fluoridated counties than in fluoridated counties, further confirming the benefits of water fluoridation systems.

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