Poor dental hygiene in poor communities
April 25, 2022
Oceana County
Population 26,815 (Government – Oceana County Michigan, n.d.)
Located along the shoreline of Lake Michigan
Asparagus capital of the world, second largest fruit tree acreage in Michigan
Two million visits a year
Choosing Oral Health
While doing my window observation, seeing the number of Oceana residents with poor oral health made me want to learn more
Working in the Emergency room I hear many of patient’s stories about not being able to see a dentist for several months
Oceana County has one Dental office that excepts Medicaid and adjusts pricing on income
Oceana County availability of dental care
Poverty affects 13.3% of the county’s population (Government – Oceana County Michigan, n.d.)
23.6% of the population depends on Medicaid and 12.5% have Medicare (Data USA Oceana, n.d.)
Dental services are not always included with health insurance, 55% of Michiganders do not have dental insurance (Michigan Oral Health Coalition, n.d.)
Stakeholders
Trinity Health
Uninsured
Dental
Clinics
MDA Foundation
“The mission of the Michigan Dental Association Foundation is improving dental health in communities throughout Michigan by helping fund an ever-expanding program of innovative charitable programs and services” (MDA Foundation Improving Dental Health, n.d., MDA Foundation).
Goal: Providing free or no cost dental care to those in need
Trinity Health
Mission: We, Trinity Health, serve together in the spirit of the Gospel as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities
Goal: Becoming the most important health care in the community
Reason’s given for poor oral health
Limited appointments
Open three days a week and limited hours
Cost
Months to get an appointment
Nervous
Pain or shots
Don’t need to
Community Nursing Diagnoses
Community oral health defecate – related to insufficient resources
Dentists’ participation in Public Health programs are limited, receiving limited reimbursements for services provided (Hung et al., 2020)
One community dentist in Oceana County excepting Medicaid
50% of low-income households lack dental care (Barrow et al., 2020)
2 billion dollars a year are spent on ER visits for dental services (Stephens et al. 2018)
Goal
To decrease the number of ER visits for dental services by 50% by the end of the 2023 reducing nonemergent ER costs
Outcome Objective One
Interventions:
Integration of care
Instruct daily oral health plan
Providing preventative oral hygiene
Trinity Health primary care offices providing oral health exam as part of yearly physical by December 2024
Outcome Objective Two
Oceana County dental offices providing preventative care with the use of Dental Therapists decreasing cost and extending hours available by December of 2022
Interventions:
More cost affective care
Extended hours for people working
Instruct on visiting every six months
Outcome Objective Three
Trinity Health’s new office includes a full-service dental office for uninsured and under insured residents by 2025
Interventions:
Decreasing ER visits
Same day appointments available
Assisting residents to apply for dental coverage
The need for dental services in Oceana County for low-income residents currently is limited. Oral health is one of the most preventable diseases and is neglected largely in low-income populations. (Ramos et al., 2020) Trinity Health with funding provided by MDA can provide dental care for Oceana County residents who are uninsured or underinsured. MDA Mission of Mercy (MOM) accepts applications for funding of future site plans. Trinity Health will present a plan for evaluation and funding for an affordable dental office in the future office being built in 2023. MDA provides funding for Michigan residents needing treatment of current dental problems, reducing pain and education on current dental problems that need treatment. (Michigan Oral Health Coalition, n.d.) With the new dental office ER visits will decrease by half by the end of the first year open.
Barrow, J., Silk, H., Phillips, R. S., & Riedy, C. A. (2020). Oral Health is Health: The Future is Now. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 31(4), 99-103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2020.0140
Data USA Oceana County MI. (n.d.). Data USA. http://embed.datausa.io
Government – Oceana County Michigan. (n.d.). http://www.census.gov
Hung, M., Lipsky, M. S., Moffat, R., Lauren, E., Hor, E. S., Park, J., Gill, G., Xu, J., Peralta, L., Cheever, J., Prince, D., Barton, T., Bayliss, N., Boyack, W., & Licari, F. W. (2020). Health and dental care expenditures in the United States from 1996 to 2016. PLoS ONE, 15(6), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234459
MDA Foundation Improving Dental Health. (n.d.) Mission of Mercy. https://foundation.michigandental.org
Michigan oral health coalition. (n.d.). Improving Oral Health in Michigan. http://mohc.org
References:
Ramos, D. V. R., Miraglia, J. L., Monteiro, C. N., Borchardt, D., Tribis, L., Sanchez, T. P., Bonfim, D., da Costa Palacio, D., da Luz Rosário de Souza, M., & de Brito Mota, M. J. B. (2020). Risk assessment for oral urgent treatment in Primary Healthcare: a cross-sectional study. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05859-2
Stephens, M. B., Wiedemer, J. P., & Kushner, G. M. (2018). Dental Problems in Primary Care. American Family Physician, 98(11), 654–660
.MsftOfcThm_Accent2_Fill_v2 { fill:#EB7712; } .MsftOfcThm_Accent2_Stroke_v2 { stroke:#EB7712; }