Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Oral health

Oral Health in Alabama: Unveiling the Burden and Pathways to Improvement
Reports on oral health in Alabama, highlighting issues across the lifespan, the relationship between oral health and other health conditions, protective factors, workforce, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and more. Discusses oral health disparities for particular groups including rural residents. Includes county-level data.
Author(s): Zachary W. Schulz
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organizations: Alabama Public Health, Oral Health Office
view details
Whole-Person Oral Health Education: Proceedings of a Workshop
Report discusses the proceedings of a workshop on the importance of holistic care in oral healthcare education. Highlights the use of interprofessional education and collaborative practices for oral healthcare providers. Explores considerations for rural communities.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
view details
2022 Health Professional Underserved Areas Report: Kansas Primary Care and Rural Health
Features information on Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) in Kansas. Discusses healthcare workforce recruitment and retention as well as rural hospital programs during 2022. Provides county-level data and maps on Primary Care, Mental, and Dental HPSAs. Includes a table classifying counties as urban, semi-urban, densely-settled rural, rural, or frontier.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Department of Health and Environment
view details
2024 Mississippi Dental Safety-Net Providers
Provides information on Mississippi's Dental Care Safety Net and Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA). Includes a county-level map showing HPSA priority scores and Safety Net provider locations.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: Mississippi State Department of Health
view details
Virginia Oral Health Workforce Gap Assessment
Report describing challenges in ensuring that all Virginians have equitable access oral healthcare, and offering an actionable framework for addressing them. Features statistics on the Virginia oral healthcare workforce, including numbers of dentists and dental hygienists, numbers of dentists treating Medicaid patients by year from 2012-2022, and a map showing dental Health Professional Shortage Areas. Includes information about the Virginia state loan repayment program for eligible providers.
Date: 12/2023
Sponsoring organization: Virginia Health Catalyst
view details
Beyond the Waiting Room: The State of Dental Care Access in West Virginia
Discusses dental care access in West Virginia, highlighting workforce shortages and underserved populations including rural residents. Offers policy recommendations to decrease disparities including interprofessional care, reimbursement structures, and more.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Harmony Health Foundation, West Virginia Oral Health Coalition
view details
Still Searching: Meeting Oral Health Needs in Rural Settings
Report discusses oral health access in rural areas. Compares barriers to care in rural, suburban, and urban communities. Highlights teledentistry use and insurance rates, among other factors.
Author(s): Paige Martin, Morgan Santoro, Lisa J. Heaton, et al.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
view details
CY 2024 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System Final Rule (CMS 1786-FC)
Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule regarding updates and changes to the Medicare payments for hospital outpatient and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) services for calendar year 2024. Summarizes provisions regarding changes to the community mental health centers (CMHC) Conditions of Participation (CoPs); payment for intensive outpatient program (IOP) services; payment methodology for Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribal facilities that convert to Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) status; the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR), Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR), and Rural Emergency Hospital Quality Reporting (REHQR) Programs; and more.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
view details
Pennsylvania Oral Health Basic Screening Survey: 2021-2022 Oral Health Basic Screening Survey of Third-Graders
Provides a comprehensive overview of the oral health status of third-grade Pennsylvania children. Features statistics including treated and untreated decay, dental sealants, and urgent need for care, with breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Pennsylvania Department of Health
view details
Travel for Medical or Dental Care by Race/Ethnicity and Rurality in the U.S.: Findings from the 2001, 2009 and 2017 National Household Travel Surveys
Analyzes National Household Travel Surveys from 2001, 2009, and 2017 to determine trends in average travel distance and travel burden between rural and urban residents seeking medical or dental care. Includes analysis of race and ethnicity as well as comparisons between travel for medical or dental care and employment.
Author(s): Marvellous Akinlotan, Nima Khodakarami, Kristin Primm, Jane Bolin, Alva O. Ferdinand
Citation: Preventative Medicine Reports, 35, 102297
Date: 10/2023
view details