This CHCS Purchasing Institute, Best Practices for Oral Health Access, was a six-month initiative that helped state executives:

  • Apply disease management principles to oral health care;
  • Increase the value of the Medicaid dental benefit;
  • Decrease the administrative burden of contracting for oral health services;
  • Work collaboratively to expand the dental workforce; and
  • Integrate and coordinate oral and physical health services.

Teams from the participant states — California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin — created action plans to improve oral health access to vulnerable populations. Each of the teams received technical assistance from oral health experts and CHCS staff to implement their action plans.