DentaQuest Institute Newsletter
Spring 2016
Congratulations to Dr. Natalia Chalmers!
Dr. Natalia Chalmers, Director of Analytics and Publication at the DentaQuest Institute, has been appointed to the Editorial Board of Pediatric Dentistry and continues to serve as expert consultant on the Council of Scientific Affairs for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) and as a research fellow to the AAPD Pediatric Oral Health Research and Policy Center (AAPD POHRPC). 
Dr. Brian Nový Presents at the Southeastern District Dental Society
Dr. Brian Nový, Director of Practice Improvement at the DentaQuest Institute, presented a lecture titled "Streptococcus Mutans Put a Hit on Me" at a recent Southeastern District Dental Society Meeting.  Some of the topics covered in his lecture included: Identifying risk factors leading to caries, explaining the role of commensals, implementing disease management in a dental practice, how to safely consume a variety of candy and sugary beverages, and tips for prolonging the life of restorations in all patients.
Dr. Mark Doherty Chairs a Medicaid Bootcamp Course
The ADA is hosting several Bootcamps in 2016 to assist providers in navigating through Medicaid.   Dr. Mark Doherty, Executive Director of Safety Net Solutions at the DentaQuest Institute, is chairing these sessions and offering his valuable insight and expertise.  In the words of Dr. Doherty, "Do the right thing and you'll always be OK. It's easy to sleep at night as long as you do it right and that's what this course does, it teaches us the importance of doing it right."
 
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SNS Hosts a Safety Net University (SNU) Spring Summit in Washington, D.C.
On April 4, 2016 the DentaQuest Institute's Safety Net Solutions team hosted a Safety Net University (SNU) Spring Summit in Washington, D.C., bringing together a variety of stakeholders to discuss the educational needs of dental students, dental directors, health center administrators, and other important audiences related to successfully running efficient and effective safety net dental programs. DentaQuest President & Chief Executive Officer, Steve Pollock, and DentaQuest Institute President, Rob Compton, participated in the all-day session along with leaders from other national stakeholder organizations making the session one that was rich in high level content and discussion.  Organizations represented included the Health Resources & Services Administration, the National Association of Community Health Centers, the National Network for Oral Health Access, Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services, the National Rural Health Association, the American Dental Association, Primary Care Associations, Federally Qualified Health Centers, funding agencies, and universities. The group spent the day reviewing the concept of a "Safety Net University" and discussing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to accomplishing the goals of the SNU. Safety Net Solutions is grateful for all of the feedback received during this meeting, and looks forward to incorporating the input of Summit attendees as the concept is further developed.
Championing Disease Management: Spotlight on Jordan Valley Community Health Center 
As one of 15 teams participating in the Dental Caries Management (DCM) Collaborative, Jordan Valley Community Health Center has diligently worked to test and implement a chronic disease management protocol for patients between the ages of 6 and 20 years of age. As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) located in Springfield, Missouri, Jordan Valley has the largest pediatric patient population of any health center in the state.

In the year since starting the DCM Collaborative, the Jordan Valley 'Plaque Attackers' have  figured out how disease management is best implemented in their organization. They have moved beyond small scale testing of caries risk assessment and are now focused on calibrating all sites and providers in the adoption and delivery of care grounded in disease management principles. This is no small feat - in their six locations, there are approximately seventeen providers and seven residents, which collectively see approximately 1500 patients ages 6-20 every month. 

Rural Primary Care Practices in South Carolina Exchange Best Practices in Oral Health 
Six rural primary care practices in South Carolina convened for their third learning session at the South Carolina Office of Rural Health in March to continue building their capacity to integrate preventive oral health services into well child visits. The participating teams exchanged best practices and discussed their collective experiences implementing oral health risk assessments, applying fluoride varnish, and providing oral health patient education.  As the pilot state of MORE Care (a DQI initiative to integrate oral health into rural primary care), the South Carolina practices have been testing strategies around optimizing workflow, enhancing electronic health records, and developing referral relationships with local dental providers since the pilot collaborative began August 2014.  The practices ended Learning Session 3 by thinking about how to begin spreading the provision of oral health services into new populations within their practices, particularly adults with diabetes.
  
Workflows and lessons learned in South Carolina are being applied and adapted to a second pilot phase of MORE Care, which is beginning in Colorado and Pennsylvania in 2016 and 2017.
For more information on MORE Care, please contact  [email protected].

Presentations at NOHC in April
Our DentaQuest Institute Analytics and Publication team presented two posters and one roundtable at the 2016 National Oral Health Conference. What a fantastic event! At the luncheon roundtables facilitated by Dr. Chalmers, attendees were pulling in extra chairs to hear about "National and State Trends of Dental-Related Emergency Department Visits." This interest is primarily driven by the fact that for a growing number of Americans, hospital emergency departments (ED) have become the first line of treatment for dental care, an escalating public health concern for health-care policymakers and providers across the United States.

The two posters presented at NOHC were, "Racial and Gender Disparities in Non-Traumatic Dental Condition Visits to Emergency Departments in Maryland" by Nancy Urbani, and "Gender and Income Inequalities in National Emergency Departments Visits for Dental/Oral Health Conditions" by Dr. Chalmers. Nancy and Dr. Chalmers collaborated with DQI's Dr. Sean Boynes and Dr. Brian Nový on both posters.
Exciting Updates from AnP
In March, Dr. Natalia Chalmers, Director of Analytics and Publication at the DentaQuest Institute, presented comparative effectiveness research at the 45th Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the American Association for Dental Research. Her work focused on transforming Big Data (dental claims) into knowledge about effective and efficient care and empowering clinicians with much-needed evidence on treatment outcomes. Dr. Chalmers' retrospective study evaluated the longevity of restorations in primary molars for children age 0-14 years old. Results of the study suggest that the survival of a dental sealant is related to a patient's age, and there are no significant differences in failure rates of composites and amalgam; future research will focus on creating a model for survival of restorative treatments. The paper was featured in National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) press release, "Longevity of restorative treatments in pediatric patients: EBD in the era of EHR" (EurekAlert!).

In April, Dr. Chalmers was invited to be a panelist at the 10th annual NIDCR Fellow's Scientific Training, sponsored by the NIDCR Office of Education, Division of Intramural Research. This event occurs annually outside of Washington D.C. for NIDCR graduate students, pre-doctoral IRTA's, postdoctoral trainees, clinical fellows, staff scientists, biologists, and core faculty staff. The event featured a keynote speaker, career development workshops and a Panel Discussion on Careers After Training at NIDCR.
DentaQuest Institute Sponsors the 8th Annual Summit on Smokeless and Spit Tobacco
Held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this national conference is designed "especially for professionals and advocates working in the field of smokeless tobacco use prevention and cessation. A significant portion of the conference was devoted to issues of concern to youth and those who work with youth".

Informational sessions included the latest research in the field, the crisis of use among youth, especially boys, tips for oral health providers to assist their patients with cessation, and a chance to talk about strategies to fight against smokeless tobacco.

The next Summit will be held in 2018.  Please click this link to learn more about this important event.
About the DentaQuest Institute

The DentaQuest Institute is a national nonprofit focused on quality in dental care. Our mission is to support and promote optimal oral health through efficient and effective care and prevention. We emphasize a hands-on approach, working directly with oral health care providers across the country to make improvements to clinical care protocols, practice management processes, and use of technology - all with an emphasis on preventing and managing oral disease.

www.DentaQuestInstitute.org