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 Virginia Oral Health Coalition                             August 2015
In This Issue
Oral Health Investments to Improve Care and Reduce Costs
Learning Opportunities
Scholarship Available
Improving Children's Oral Health in Medicaid: New Resources
Teledentistry Forum
Blog: Medals, Dental Care and System Wide Change
Of Interest
 

Oral Health Investments to Improve Care and Reduce Costs, NCSL 
 
  Andrew Snyder from the National Academy for State Health Policy recently presented to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) on the innovative ways states are investing in oral health to improve care and reduce costs. The presentation was based on recent case studies from seven states and highlighted the impact of dental benefits for pregnant women in Virginia's Medicaid program.

 

View Mr. Snyder's NCSL presentation

 

Read more about the case studies on adult dental benefits
 

 
Learning Opportunities
   
Oral Health Integration  Tooth Talk
September 11, 2015
Medical and dental safety net providers are invited to join us for the Virginia Health Care Foundation Tooth Talk on September 11, 2015, to hear from experts and gain practical knowledge and strategies to help integrate oral health into patient centered care.
 
Click here for meeting details and registration.

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2015 Virginia Oral Health Summit
Achievable Wellness: Engaging Communities and Clinicians for
Better Health
November 13, 2015
The 2015 Virginia Oral Health Summit will be held at the Westin Hotel in Richmond Virginia on November 13, 2015. The Summit is expected to attract over 200 multi-sector leaders from all regions of Virginia. CE credit will be provided for clinicians and social workers.
Registration will open in September.
 
Sponsorship and exhibit options available. Contact Carrie Wampler for details.
 
Virginia Oral Health Coalition
4200 Innslake Drive
Glen Allen, Virginia 23060
sholland@vaoralhealth.org
804.269.8720
  
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Scholarship Available for Collaborative Leadership Development

SYNC - Transforming Healthcare Leadership is an interprofessional leadership program, offered by the Medical Society of Virginia, Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association and the Virginia Nurses Foundation, to empower health care teams to work collaboratively on topics that impact patient care and the healthcare environment.

Virginia Oral Health Coalition (VaOHC) is offering one partial scholarship ($2,500) to the SYNC program for an interprofessional clinical team that includes a dental provider and intends to focus on integration for the capstone project.

 

To apply for SYNC, complete the online application and indicate "Applying for a Scholarship" on the application form. VaOHC will send scholarship application materials to eligible SYNC applicants.

 

The program requires participation in four learning sessions from October 2015 - March 2016 and completion of a capstone project.

 

If you have questions about the VaOHC scholarship, please contact Samantha Dorr at 804.269.8722.
Improving Children's Oral Health in Medicaid:
New Resources
  
The Center for Health Care Strategies has partnered with Mathematica Policy Research through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to develop several new resources to guide states, health plans and other oral heath stakeholders with information regarding oral health care access, quality and outcomes for children enrolled in Medicaid. Resources include:
Teledentistry Forum

The Virginia Board of Dentistry held a Teledentistry Forum on August 14 to hear from stakeholders about the potential use of teledentistry in Virginia. In alignment with the Virginia Oral Health Plan, VaOHC recently convened a teledentistry workgroup; VaOHC shared the workgroup's recommendations at the forum. Other forum participants offered testimony on the potential benefits of teledentistry and how it might affect access to care in Virginia.


Blog: Medals, Dental Care and System Wide Change at the Special Olympics
by Katherine Libby


I recently had the honor of attending the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry conference, held in conjunction with the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles. [...] Outside of the Special Olympics venue, the streets buzzed with over 6,500 athletes from all over the world and hundreds of thousands of spectators waiting to watch the athletes compete. Inside the conference, there was a different but equally invigorating energy...


Of Interest
  
Oral Health and Overall Health

Oral 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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Most States Lag on Delivering Valuable Preventive Dental Care to Low-Income Children

School sealant programs can be found in 48 states and DC; however, a recent Pew report noted that, in 2014, 39 states and DC lacked sealant programs in most of their high-need schools (defined as those with at least 50 percent of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch). Less then 25 percent of Virginia's high-need schools offer a sealant program. Read more
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Dentists Help 360 Athletes at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games

Over the course of seven days, about 360 athletes with intellectual disabilities received dental treatment, some of whom had never seen a dentist. The care helped to improve their competitive edge and quality of life. Read more