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Oral Health Workforce

The Future Oral Health Workforce Project: Oral Health Equity Through Workforce Design

Schuyler Center has been awarded a grant from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health to develop recommendations addressing the tremendous unmet need for preventive and routine oral health services in New York populations, especially New Yorkers with low income. The focus will be on increasing the availability of care by identifying comprehensive changes to policies that address the state’s significant oral health workforce shortage.

Learn more about the project.

Stakeholder Survey on Oral Health Access

Contact oralhealth@scaany.org for additional information.

Data Dashboard coming soon.

Webinars

During 2024, the project will host several webinars and educational sessions that anyone can join to learn about:

  • Oral health need and workforce data
  • Other states’ strategies to strengthen workforce
  • Options that are being considered in New York
  • Consumer experiences with the oral health care system.

Increasing Access to Dental Medicaid: Case Study from Missouri
May 14, 2024, 12:00-12:45 pm

This webinar will provide an overview of the work of the Missouri Coalition for Oral Health to increase access to dental care through MO HealthNet (Missouri Medicaid), including rate increases and working to support provider enrollment.

Speaker:

  • Gary Harbison, MA
    Executive Director
    Missouri Coalition for Oral Health

Oral Health Needs Assessment for New York State
May 20, 2024 12:00-12:45 pm

This presentation by the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University of Albany School of Public Health will report the findings of a needs assessment that was completed for this project. The researchers provide an analysis of the data to inform the development of workforce strategies to provide care to populations and geographic areas without sufficient oral health services.

The speakers will present the findings of the needs assessment and discuss implications for policy development.

Speakers:

  • Nafin Harun, MA
    Program Manager
    Center for Health Workforce Studies
  • Jean Moore, DrPH, FAAN
    Center Director
    Center for Health Workforce Studies

Previous Webinars

Oral Health and Economic Welfare: A Two-Way Street?
May 9, 2024, 12:00-12:45 pm

It is well understood that economically disadvantaged populations suffer greater oral diseases and unmet treatment needs, but is the opposite also true—that poor oral health affects economic wellbeing? We’ll look at the evidence on both sides of this question as we explore why oral health matters.

Speakers:

  • Burton Edelstein, DDS, MPH
    Professor Emeritus of Dental Medicine (Pediatric Dentistry) and Health Policy & Management
    Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • Jill Boylston Herndon, PhD
    Managing Member and Principal Consultant
    Key Analytics & Consulting

Oral Health: Opportunities for Prevention and Intervention
April 25, 2024

Not all oral health care is delivered by dental professionals. Since most people see their primary care provider during the year, these providers can play an important role in preventing dental disease and connecting patients to regular sources of dental care.  

This webinar will highlight how common oral disease is today and the relationship of oral health to overall health. The presenter will review national oral health recommendations and practice guidelines, opportunities for integration of oral health into primary care and community settings and provide educational resources. The webinar will provide good background information for non-dental professionals who want to learn more about why good oral health is important to the health of the populations they serve.

Speaker:

  • Melinda Clark, MD, MPH
    Melinda Clark is an academic pediatrician and a Professor of Pediatrics at Albany Medical Center. She serves as the American Academy Pediatrics New York Chapter 1 Oral Health Advocate and as an oral health expert for many national committees and organizations. 

Oral Health 101
Co-Sponsored with Community Catalyst
April 22, 2024

Whether you’re an advocate new to oral health or a dental provider interested in learning more about oral health policy, this webinar is intended to provide you with the foundation you need to understand and engage around the importance of oral health, what the barriers to oral health care are, and how oral health policy directly impacts people’s health. Come join us for an overview on how oral health is connected to physical, mental, and economic health, how dental care is delivered and paid for in the U.S., and how the current system leaves out many communities. 

Speakers: 

  • Kasey Wilson, MSW, Senior Policy Analyst, Community Catalyst 
  • Laura (Hale) Brannon, Senior Project Manager, Community Catalyst 

Project Kick-Off
The Future Oral Health Workforce Project: Oral Health Equity Through Workforce Design
March 14, 2024

Project Resources

Oral Health Workforce News Coverage