Integrating oral health into primary care settings

Oral Health is an essential part of overall health.

Ask & Assess: Adding a dental screening and risk assessment in a non-dental environment

• Caries Risk Assessment, Fluoride Varnish, and Counseling  | Smiles for Life
• Screening tools (English/Spanish) | American Academy of Pediatrics
• Additional free training modules  | Smiles for Life
• Best Practice Tip to Consider – Establish set oral health questions within your electronic health records system visit workflows to minimally establish the purpose and date of the last dental visit as well as document the primary dental care provider or place, also called the “dental home”. 

Act: Oral health interventions to consider

Oral Fluoride Supplementation – Depending on Community Water Fluoridation Status 

• Search here to find out the fluoridation status of your community  | CDC
• Fluoride: Topical and Systemic Supplements | ADA  

Topical Fluoride Varnish 

• Fluoride Varnish Training for Health Care Professionals

Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF)  

• Understanding Use of Silver Diamine Fluoride | Head Start/ECLKC
• Silver Diamine Fluoride | ADA
• Physician Use of Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) in Dental Caries Management | AAPD
• Policy on Minimally Invasive Dentistry | AAPD

Connecting patients with a dental home 

• Best Practice Tip to Consider – Use these resources to create a referral order process that ensures follow-up and potential care coordination assistance to connect the patient with a dental home.  Minimally, create a list of nearby providers with their contact information.     

Document: Closing the loop

• Best Practice Tip to Consider – Treat dental referrals like other types of general referrals.  Establish a prioritization process by need with a documented process for urgent care situations.  Create a process for referral follow-up and management within your team’s workflows. 

Background Information and references regarding oral health integration with primary care

Prevention of Dental Caries in Children Younger Than 5 Years: Screening and Interventions | U.S. Preventive Services Task Force 

Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care | Bright Futures, American Academy of Pediatrics  

Medical-Dental Integration Partnership | CDC 

Implementation of Evidence-Based Preventive Interventions | CDC 

Oral Health and Primary Care Integration | HRSA 

Safety Net Medical Home Initiative | Qualis Health, 2016

Medical-Dental Integration |  Carequest Institute for Oral Health

Smiles for Life: A national oral health curriculum

Center for Integration of Primary Care and Oral Health | Harvard University