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Oral health is often excluded from broad health policy discussions, addressed only in a policy silo. There is a paucity of research to guide policymaking as it relates to oral health. In response, AcademyHealth's Oral Health Interest Group organized a meeting during the 2019 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting to promote transdisciplinary dialog on the current state of oral health policy and the steps necessary to improve the oral health of Americans. This article summarizes the two main themes that emerged from the proceedings of the Oral Health Interest Group meeting: a) recommendations for advocating the inclusion of oral health in policy discussions and b) critical research topics and measures needed for effective oral health policies in the future., (© 2020 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.)

Background: To achieve optimal health and oral health, the system of care must place a person and their social well-being at the center of decision making and understand factors spent outside the clinical settings, including individual behavior, context and lifestyle., Main Text: Person-centered care offers a unique and compelling opportunity for dentistry, and its practitioners, to improve quality of care and overall health outcomes. For decades, the dominant treatment modalities within dentistry primarily focused on a surgical, treatment-oriented approach as opposed to health promotion and improvement. However, new business and care models are disrupting the dental care system, and transforming it into one that is focused on disease management and prevention-oriented primary care that considers overall health and well-being. We proposed a person-centered care model to improve oral health as an integral part of overall health. The model identified three key players who act as change agents with their respective roles and responsibilities: Person, provider, and health care system designer., Conclusions: While previous person-centered models in dentistry focused on the role of providers within the clinical setting, this work emphasizes the role of the care designer in creating an environment where both person and provider are able to communicate effectively and achieve improved health outcomes.

The objective of this study was to identify specific factors (sex, race or ethnicity, and health care provider type) associated with patient receipt of an opioid prescription after a dental diagnosis. The authors used Medicaid claims dated from January 1, 2013, through September 30, 2015, for 13 U.S. states in this study. The authors identified oral health–related conditions by using International Classification of Diseases , Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes 520.0 through 529.9. During the 2013 through 2015 study period, among the more than 1,008,400 Medicaid patients with a dental diagnosis, 19.8% filled an opioid prescription within 14 days of diagnosis. Female patients were 50% more likely to receive an opioid prescription for pain management of a dental condition than were men (odds ratio [OR], 1.50; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.49 to 1.52). Non-Hispanic whites and African Americans were approximately twice as likely to receive opioids than were Hispanics (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 2.05 to 2.19; OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.84 to 1.96, respectively). Patients receiving oral health care in an emergency department were more than 7 times more likely to receive an opioid prescription than were patients treated in a dental office (OR, 7.28; 95% CI, 7.13 to 7.43). Patients with a dental condition diagnosed were more than 4 times as likely to receive an opioid from a nurse practitioner as from a dentist (OR, 4.31; 95% CI, 4.19 to 4.44). Opioid use was substantially higher among African American female patients (OR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.93 to 2.10) and non-Hispanic white female patients (OR, 2.16; 95% CI, 2.07 to 2.24) than among Hispanic female patients. Opioid prescribing patterns differ depending on patient race or ethnicity, sex, and health care provider source in patients with a dental diagnosis in the United States. Dentists are providing substantially fewer opioid prescriptions compared with their medical colleagues for pain treatment after a dental diagnosis in the Medicaid population. When considering pain management for dental and related conditions, dentists should continue with conservative prescribing practices as recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]