Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin’s decision this month to cut dental and vision benefits for about 460,000 state Medicaid beneficiaries is taking a toll on providers and patients in the state.
Since the Republican governor made his announcement in early July, Jessica Clark-Boyd, who is the office manager for Healthy Smiles, a dental practice in Prestonsburg, has had to reschedule dozens of patient appointments for next month in hopes the benefits eventually will be restored. Continue reading
Photo” Christopher Irwin via Flickr
Last fall, oral health advocates joined a successful push to save a city water fluoridation ordinance in Rugby, N.D.
Meanwhile, in Buda, Texas, voters rejected a measure that would have reinstated water fluoridation in their Austin suburb. Continue reading
Photo: Liz West via Flickr
A bill recently signed into law by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey opens the way for dental therapists to begin providing services in tribal health centers, safety net clinics and other public health settings across the state.
Diverse supporters of the change ranged from health advocacy groups and tribal organizations to the libertarian Goldwater Institute, which issued the report, “The Reform That Can Increase Dental Access and Affordability in Arizona.” Continue reading
The mouth is connected to the body.
Yet much remains unknown about the subtle workings of that connection.
Research continues to identify associations between oral and systemic conditions. But it is too soon to draw conclusions about possible causal relationships between maladies such as gum disease and cancer, warn the authors of a June guest editorial in the Journal of the American Dental Association. Continue reading
Photo: Jonathan Cohen via Flickr
Children living in counties with fluoridated water have significantly less tooth decay than those living in counties that lack water fluoridation programs, according to a newly published large-scale study.
Reduced decay rates were most pronounced in the primary teeth of children living in fluoridated counties. Yet community water fluoridation (CWF) also was credited with conferring a meaningful level of protection to the permanent teeth of children and adolescents. Continue reading