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Excellent Oral Health for ALL Virginians
In This Issue
Free CE Training
Upcoming Events
General Assembly
Of Interest
Free CE Training

Dental Care Approaches for Adults with Disabilities

The Coalition will offer a free, two-day CE training in Richmond on March 21-22 for dentists who are interested in learning techniques to care for patients with special needs.  This training is made possible with grant funding from the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities.

Click here to register or view more info.

Limited space is available.
  
Upcoming 
Events
 
Here's what the Coalition is up to:
 
Teledentistry Workgroup Meeting
Monday, Feb. 10
 
Early Dental Home Workgroup Meeting
Thursday, Feb. 27
 
If you'd like to attend either event, contact Katherine Libby.
  

Please take a moment to support the Coalition's work.

 

 

 

Read about the Coalition's accomplishments

 

Please check with your HR department to find out if your gift can be matched. 

 

 
January 2014 Newsletter

General Assembly Decisions Will Impact Oral Health Care Access

 

VA FlagThe Virginia General Assembly is in full swing, and I am pleased to write that during this session several pieces of legislation have the potential to significantly increase access to oral health care for hundreds of thousands of Virginians. 

 

Of note:
  • Budget amendments to provide Preventive Dental Benefits for the 15,000 Pregnant Women currently enrolled in Medicaid and FAMIS Moms, introduced by Senator George Barker (301 #2s) and Delegate Rosalyn Dance (301 #34h), have the potential to improve birth outcomes and increase the number of children receiving preventive dental care early in life.  
  • A Teledentistry Pilot Project, sponsored by Senator Richard Black (SB647), will utilize hygienists to provide preventive dental services to underserved children in a school-based setting.
  • Deferred Compensation for Smiles for Children dental providers (HB147), introduced by Delegate John O'Bannon, and its companion (SB412), introduced by Senator Emmett Hanger, authorize the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) to establish a plan enabling dentists to deposit a portion of reimbursed Medicaid payments to tax-deferred VRS accounts.
  • Medicaid Expansion - The Coalition continues to support the expansion of Medicaid in the Commonwealth. Doing so will provide over 400,000 individuals with an emergency dental extraction benefit, diminishing the use of the emergency department for dental issues.

TeethIt is not too late to Join Coalition board members, staff and partners for Oral Health Legislative Day, Wednesday, January 29, 2014.  Together, we will talk to legislators about the importance of preventive Medicaid dental benefits for pregnant women and our other legislative priorities.

 

Click here to register or view more information.
 
Of Interest

  

Oral Health and Overall Health

 

Smile CircleOral health and overall health are fundamentally intertwined. The following links present current information on how oral health is connected to overall health and well-being.  

 

  
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Upcoming Tooth Talk Events, Virginia Health Care Foundation

  
Tooth The Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) has several Tooth Talk events coming up in March.
  
Please visit our website for more oral health information