Editor’s note: This commentary is by Republican Sen. Kevin J. Mullin of Rutland.
There is clear medical evidence linking good oral health – healthy teeth and gums and quality preventive and restorative care – to overall health and lower health care costs. That’s why I’ve offered legislation to establish a network of Community Dental Health Coordinators (CDHCs) to provide more Vermonters with the dental care they need and deserve.
My bill, S.235, asks that the commissioner of health, in consultation with Vermont’s dentists and dental care advocates, create a CDHC pilot program. Including CDHCs as members of regional dental teams can significantly improve access to high quality and affordable dental care.
CHDCs improve oral health in underserved communities through dental health education, disease prevention, and helping patients navigate an often-daunting public health system to receive the care they need from dentists. Most CDHCs come from the same communities where they work, helping eliminate cultural, educational and language barriers that can be roadblocks to dental care.
By focusing on oral health education and disease prevention, CDHCs empower people to manage their own oral health. When disease requires treatment, the CDHC links patients with dentists who can provide that treatment, and can help obtain other services — such as child care or transportation — that patients may need in order to receive care.
The strength of this program is in its ability to provide a near immediate solution to our state’s oral health problems. The CDHC training program is short and they connect people who need dental care with dentists in need of patients.
[My bill] also ensures that our dentists have a seat at the table because no one knows more about ensuring the dental health than the dentists who are trained to provide this highly specialized medical care.
We are approaching the CDHC as a pilot program because we should not be experimenting with health care delivery models before they can be proven to work in Vermont. This approach will allow us to confirm this model will lower costs and improve access in a meaningful and measurable way, while giving us the flexibility to make adjustments.
Thankfully, we are not starting from scratch. In 2006, the American Dental Association (ADA) developed and implemented an effective CDHC model for several states. Last year, the Vermont State Dental Society piloted a six-week program in which a CDHC worked in Winooski to expand oral health education by visiting community centers, nursing homes, daycare centers and schools. The dental education provided by the CDHC connected more Vermonters directly with tools to maintain their oral health and receive quality care.
The CDHC delivered results by increasing the number of patients receiving care in Winooski, especially by members of the community that had been underserved. Now, we’re poised to take the next statewide step.
In the future, with carefully crafted policies and regulation, CDHCs could also provide basic clinical care. The ultimate goal of this proposal is to provide every Vermonter access to care from a dentist, so they can maintain their dental and overall health. This is particularly important when you consider that many dental procedures are surgical and medically significant.
In my view, Vermonters have as much a right to see a dentist for their dental care as they do to see a primary care provider. Our public policy shouldn’t shortchange us by creating unnecessary layers between patients and our doctors.
My bill contains specific guidance for the Department of Health to develop a program that will, in fact, expand access to high quality and affordable dental health care in our communities. It also ensures that our dentists have a seat at the table because no one knows more about ensuring the dental health than the dentists who are trained to provide this highly specialized medical care.
This legislation establishes a common sense path for addressing the oral health challenges Vermont faces in a collaborative manner that puts patients first and will get real results. I urge my colleagues in the Legislature, and fellow Vermonters, to support it.
