It is time to put the mouth back in the body
Sarah Bedard Holland sholland@vaoralhealth.org
Virginia Oral Health Coalition sholland@vaoralhealth.org

• Oral Health is Health
– Diabetes
– Premature Birth
– Dental Disease and kids
• The Virginia Oral Health Coalition
• A Plug for the Virginia Oral Health Summit

Associations:
– Failure to Thrive
– Diabetes
– Premature Birth
– Heart Disease
– Osteoporosis
– Stroke
– Alzheimer’s

Selected Health Status Indicators (2010)
Children Age 3-15 with Dental Caries
Estimate
653,149
Children Age 3-15 with Untreated Dental Decay
Adults age 35-44 with Untreated Dental Decay
Adults Age 45 to 74 with Moderate or Severe Periodontis
Total Number of Pre-term Births
312,185
308,282
345,284
10,389
Adults 18 and over with Diabetes 518,026
Source: Community Health Solutions produced these estimates by applying national estimates from the Centers for Disease Control
Healthy People 2020 initiative to Virginia population estimates. These estimates are for planning purposes only. Community Health
Solutions cannot and does not guarantee their accuracy. Pre-term birth data source: VDH Division of Health Statistics Resident Live
Birth, Death, Fetal Death and Induced Termination of Pregnancy Certificates 2010.

• With Treatment:
– Saved an average of
$1,814 in medical costs annually
– Had an average reduction of 33% in annual hospital admissions
– Had an annual average of
13% fewer physician visits

• Reality:
– Women with periodontal disease are 8x more likely to deliver prematurely
– Over 85% of women who delivered before 32 weeks had periodontal disease
• Costs:
– Preterm baby costs are 10x higher
(almost $50,000 vs. $4,500)
– 10% of the babies born to a mom receiving Medicaid or FAMIS MOMS were premature

• Untreated dental disease increasing
– 70% low income kids
– Failure to thrive
– 1 million missed school hours
– General Anesthesia
• Age one dental home

Oral Health…A Poster Child for Prevention
• Early Dental Visits
• Fluoride
– Water
– Varnish
– Toothpaste
• Sealants
• Diet, Oral Hygiene

• Most non dental providers not engaged
• Little mention of oral health outside of dental programs
• Low Medicaid utilization
• Paltry adult Medicaid benefit
• Oral Health issues affect every sector:
– Over 3,000 dental cases billed to Medicaid required general anesthesia in VA last year – at a cost of well over $7 million dollars
– 52% of new armed forces recruits had dental problems that delayed overseas deployments
– Adults miss an estimated 164 million hours of work each year because of dental needs
– Preventable dental conditions were the primary diagnosis in
830,590 visits to emergency departments in 2009

Not enough life boats.

Created as a convener to integrate oral health into all aspects of health care through policy change, public awareness and targeted initiatives

Free Clinics
Free Clinics
Free Clinics
Community
Health
Community
Health
Centers
AAP
Community
Health
Centers
AAP
AAFP
AAFP
EVMS
EVMS
The Coalition is a network of over 150 organizational and individual partners which drives the 19 objectives in the Virginia
Oral Health Plan.

Targeted
Initiatives
Medical and
Dental
Collaboration
Initiative
Virginia Dental
Home Initiative
Public Awareness Policy Change
Website, Social
Media, Newsletter
Oral Health
Summit
Legislative Day
Joint Commission
Study

Learn More –
Virginia Oral Health Summit!
The Future of Oral Health Delivery
November 8 th
Richmond Westin
Dr. Marcia Brand, HRSA
Dr. Marko Vujicic, ADA

“Make no little plans. They have no Magic to stir men's blood.”
- - Daniel H Burnham