The West Virginia COHA has teamed with a pediatric resident and applied for a Community Pediatrics Training Initiative grant for dissemination of guidelines to pediatricians and dentists.
Chapter Activities The West Virginia Chapter has set the following goals for improving oral health:
Initiate chapter-sponsored media attention to the issue of oral health
Start chapter participation at the policy-making level through coalition building and participation of
advisory bodies
increase the competence of chapter members in oral health for infants and toddlers
Activities include pursuing an open editorial submission; requesting participation in the Governor's Oral Health Advisory Board; initiating participation in oral health sounding boards; seeking and building coalitions with other stakeholders; lobbying Medicaid to pay for fluoride varnish in pediatricians offices; and disseminating the AAP brochure "First Steps to a Healthy Smile" to practices.
The following outcomes were the result of these activities:
1.
Having a
700-word editorial published in the Charleston Gazette to educate the public about the determinants of poor oral health in children (West Virginia ranks last in the nation).
2.
Participation by the Chapter President in the Governor's Oral Health Advisory Board to design recommendations to improve oral health.
3.
Formation of a coalition with the WVU Health Sciences Center Oral Health Initiative to disseminate best practices for oral health during pregnancy and maternal education of oral health.
4.
Lobbying the legislature for passage of the "Dental Hygienist Independent Practice" bill (passed).
5.
Continuing to lobby for training and reimbursement for fluoride varnishes in primary care practices.
Health Department Provides Dental Care Through Schools
Several local grants have allowed the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department and Wood County Schools to expand a dental program for at-need students into all of the district's Title I schools.
The program began on a limited basis in May 2008 and first involved 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and a high school special program. This year the program was expanded into 10 Title I schools. The program is under the direction of the health department and focuses on students who have not been to a dentist in 12 or more months.
(12/7/09)
West Virginia Nears Dental Crisis Over Stagnant Medicaid Payments
West Virginia's Medicaid patients are nearing a crisis when it comes to access to dental care, West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports. Medicaid's reimbursement rates for dentistry haven't increased since 1991, and West Virginia cut rates in 1994 by 30%, causing fewer and fewer dentists to accept payment from the public program for low-income patients. (10/19/2009)
West Virginia Seeks To Increase Medicaid Reimbursement Rates For Dentists
The West Virginia Medicaid Fund Advisory Council approved a plan to ask CMS for permission to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates for dentists for the first time in 8 years.
West Virginia's Medicaid program covers some dental care for children younger than age 19 and emergency tooth extractions for adults ages 19 and older. The West Virginia Dental Association has suggested that dentists be reimbursed for additional services provided to infants and toddlers to encourage early dental health.
(1/14/09)
