Young children under 5 are more likely to see a primary care provider or pediatrician than a dental provider. These primary care providers are uniquely positioned to provide oral health preventive services as part of primary care visits and are well situated to connect their patients to dental care.
From 2021 through 2023, Connecticut along with 13 other states participated in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Advancing Oral Health Prevention in Primary Care Affinity Group. The Affinity Group focused on developing quality improvement strategies to advance oral health prevention in primary care settings. New interventions were designed and applied to the Connecticut Dental Health Partnership’s (CTDHP’s) Access to Baby Care Program resulting in an 18% increase in fluoride varnish applications at medical well-child visits.
Recently, CTDHP was selected by CMS to highlight their efforts on increasing oral health services in pediatric primary care offices in Connecticut.
Learn more with this video, which provides an overview of the processes, reporting and methods for helping pediatrician practices to quantify rates of services and address missed revenue opportunities.
Broader oral health quality improvement resources can be found at Oral Health Quality Improvement Resources | Medicaid
