Primary care providers in several states are being trained to provide certain oral health services as part of an initiative to integrate services and increase access to dental care, KFF Health News reported April 10.
Five notes:
1. Patricia Braun, MD, a pediatric primary care provider at Denver Health, is part of a team that is training medical doctors to provide oral health services using a five-year, $6 million federal grant.
2. The team has trained more than 250 doctors so far in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Arizona.
3. Similar initiatives are also taking place in Illinois, Michigan, Virginia and New York with funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
4. Dental services provided by the primary care providers include assessments, preventive care such as applying fluoride varnish, educating patients, making referrals and working with dental hygienists at their practices.
5. Katy Battani, a registered dental hygienist and assistant professor at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., is also helping community health centers in nine states integrate dental care services into visits for pregnant women.