Medicina Comunitária e Educação em Saúde

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Achieving Equity in Oral Health: A Data-driven Approach for Informing Policy Changes

Moore CE, Reznik D, Conboy L, Giwa J, Aslam F, Bussenius H, Aidman C, Warren RC

Due to the lack of access to affordable oral healthcare in outpatient settings, emergency departments (EDs) see unnecessary overuse in providing palliative care for mouth pain. Hospitals across the country are exhausting limited human and fiscal resources on patients seeking relief for non-traumatic oral conditions that could be better managed in nonhospital settings. Community dental clinics offer one strategy for easing the burden on EDs, while simultaneously reducing costs to the system, facilitating definitive care, and minimizing time away from work and home for patients. The expansion of government funding, including comprehensive adult Medicaid dental benefits, to facilitate preventive and restorative coverage for populations in need in outpatient settings would increase access to appropriate care and likely further reduce the tendency for patients to seek dental care in EDs. Targeting of specific high-risk groups (such as low-resourced or minority persons) also would help to remove barriers to care, lessen disparities in access and treatment, and improve equity in oral health in the U.S.