Oral Health Services

Summary:

I chose this article to read due to wanting to understand how policies and laws work
within Oral health. I plan on becoming a Dentist in the future, so I think it is important to know
what policies and laws affect the dental field and what needs to be improved upon. This article
also goes into how these certain policies can promote better oral health services in the US since
there are some areas that do not have proper care for their teeth, or some people in general do not
take care of their oral health. There are many issues that come with bad oral health, and with the
promotion for better care, it will help many communities across the nation that don’t get the
proper care they need. This article will help fulfill sub-competency #4, which focuses on the
improvement of policies, programs, services and overall organizational performance.

What I Learned:

I’ve learned quite a bit from this article. This article/report presents evidence based law
and policy solutions that focus on the improvement of oral health care financing, strengthening
of the workforce and the removal of barriers to be able to use oral health services. This article
brings up past programs, policies and laws that were put up that helped improve oral health care,
but mentioned that there are still issues that need to be fixed to be accessible to all people of the
US. For example, Medicaid is the most common form of public insurance, and states must cover
oral health services to those under 21 that are eligible for Medicaid. One program that can also
help with getting treatments and services is The Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and
Treatment Program (EPSDT). The program offers a pathways to treatment to low income youth.
There is also Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that provides health insurance to
children (under 19) with family incomes that are too high for Medicaid. Some laws/acts were put
into place, such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which had states expand
Medicaid to adults with low income. This would make them eligible for oral health care services.

The major issues with not being able to have proper care is that there are many that still
can’t afford treatment and/or do not have any services available in their general vicinity. With
laws and policies being put into place, it can help reduce barriers that have been put up. There is
though that providers who get federal funds must follow the laws and policies, while private
practices (which don’t receive government funds) are not required to comply, at least legally.
That means they don’t have to provide the care people need if they don’t see it fit for their
company.

Through this article, it promotes that there needs to be change. Laws and policies need to
improve, so they can better support and increase oral health care. There needs to be more
research to better understand the policies within the oral health system. There needs to polices
that address determinants of health. With these ideas, this can ensure that everyone can get the
help they need and further promote better oral health.