Spotlighted Resources from the OHRC Library
Resources include curricula, guides, fact sheets, reports, and tools developed by federal and state agencies and organizations.
April 2025
Barriers to Dental Care Among Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries: A Comprehensive Analysis in Eight States
This brief summarizes results from surveys of Medicaid participants and dentists in eight states conducted to improve understanding of barriers to accessing oral health care among participants. The brief provides background and discusses methods. It also provides percentages by survey results and claims data on adults’ utilization of oral health care and dentists’ participation in Medicaid, reasons for not visiting a dentist more frequently among adult Medicaid participants, and the relative importance of factors that prevent dentists from providing care to more participants. Policy implications are also discussed. [Produced by American Dental Association; Health Policy Institute]
Closing the Loop: Recommendations for Medi-Cal Referral Systems to Support Children and Families
This brief describes closed-loop referrals (defined as referring Medi-Cal managed care plan participants to community resources, coordinating the referral, and following up to help ensure that care, including oral health care), was provided in California. The brief offers recommendations for successful closed-loop referrals for Medi-Cal participants. Opportunities for building an infrastructure and partnerships foundational to closed-loop referrals are presented. [Produced by Children Now]
This guide provides information for participants in Project ECHO, a case-based learning and community-of-practice model that supports the availability of oral health care close to where people live. The guide provides background on the project, including its core principles, information on how it works, benefits for partners, its goals, the structure of an ECHO session, the curriculum, participant requirements, and the evaluation process. Information on case presentations and logistics is included. [Produced by Well-Ahead Louisiana]
Medicaid Provider Resource: Strategies to Reduce Denials and Improve Efficiency
This brief serves as a guide that dentists can use to reduce Medicaid claim denials for oral health care and handle prior authorizations in their practices. Topics include strategies for avoiding denials and incorporating prior authorizations; filing claims and addressing denials; tips and sample text to use to indicate medical necessity for treatment and reduce denials, by CDT code and by procedure type; and responding to claim denials. [Produced by American Dental Association]
Medicaid Provider Resource: Strategies to Reduce Missed Appointments
This brief for dentists who participate in Medicaid presents strategies for maximizing practice productivity, reducing patient cancellations and missed appointments, and reducing administrative burdens. Strategies discussed include using patient-support resources, incorporating scheduling best practices, using staff and expanded workforce models, and behaving compassionately toward patients experiencing challenges with keeping appointments. [Produced by American Dental Association]
Oral Health Program Fact Sheet: Pregnancy and Oral Health for Health Care Providers
This fact sheet for health professionals explains why good oral health during pregnancy is important and lists oral health problems that pregnant women may experience. It offers tips for how health professionals can help support patients’ oral health during pregnancy by asking questions, checking the woman’s mouth for signs of oral disease, providing referrals to a dentist, and advising patients on what to do to promote oral health after vomiting. Information on the safety of getting oral health care during pregnancy is included. [Produced by Ohio Department of Health, Oral Health Program]
What Happens If the Adult Medicaid Dental Benefit Goes Away?
This brief estimates the fiscal impact on states of removing adult Medicaid dental benefits for the 41 states and District of Columbia that offer benefits at the limited or enhanced level. It analyzes medical care costs incurred for emergency department visits, for those with conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, and for pregnant women. The brief also provides a review of policy changes to several states’ Medicaid dental benefits and examines the impact of these changes. [Produced by American Dental Association, Health Policy Institute]
Why Does Scope of Practice Matter?
This infographic explains the meaning of professional dental hygiene scope of practice (SOP) and legal SOP. It also presents the benefits of a broad state dental hygiene SOP. Benefits discussed included (1) enabling dental hygienists to practice at the full extent of their training and (2) increasing access to oral health care, especially in underserved areas. [Produced by Oral Health Workforce Resource Center]