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Consortium for Oral Health Systems Integration and Improvement

Integrating Oral Health Care and Primary Care Learning Collaborative: A State and Local Partnership


Overview

This learning collaborative ran from January 2022 through March 2024 and focused on integrating oral health care and primary care with both a state component and a local component in nine states.

The state component focused on assessing and improving systems-level capacity for integrating oral health care and primary care for pregnant women, infants, children, and adolescents, including those with special health care needs (maternal and child health population).

A capacity inventory was developed for state oral health programs to help them identify relevant drivers or change concepts.

COHSII provided technical assistance (TA) to state oral health programs on using the capacity inventory tool to identify action strategies.

Integration Process image

The capacity inventory tool is used to assess capacity and prioritize needs in advance of action planning.

The local component focused on integrating oral health care and primary care for pregnant women at the community health center (CHC) level. States selected one CHC site that provides prenatal care to participate in the project. COHSII staff and consultants, as well as the National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA), provide TA to project teams to integrate the interprofessional oral health core clinical competencies into primary care practice. Project teams leveraged opportunities to share information to advance oral health policy and practice and enhance the integration of oral health care and primary care. Data was collected to show examples of how the integration of oral health care and primary care can improve access to and utilization of oral health care.

Participating State Departments of Health and Prenatal Clinics

  • California Department of Public Health, Office of Oral Health; La Clinica de La Raza
  • Georgia Department of Public Health, Oral Health Program; Albany Area Primary Health Care
  • Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Oral Health; PCC Community Wellness Center
  • Maryland Department of Health, Office of Oral Health; Choptank Community Health System
  • Mississippi State Department of Health, Office of Oral Health; G.A. Carmichael Family Health Center
  • Ohio Department of Health, Oral Health Program; Lorain County Health and Dentistry
  • Rhode Island Department of Health, Oral Health Program; Comprehensive Community Action Program
  • Texas Department of State Health Services, Oral Health Improvement Program; Stephen F. Austin Community Health Center
  • West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Public Health, Oral Health Program; New River Health Association

Map showing partnership states

Learning Collaborative Video Library

  • Five Domains of the Interprofessional Oral Health Core Clinical Competencies
    • Domain 1: Risk Assessment
    • Domain 2: Oral Health Evaluation
    • Domain 3: Preventive Intervention
    • Domain 4: Communication and Education
    • Domain 5: Interprofessional Collaborative Practice

Resources

OHRC

American Academy of Pediatrics

Center for Integration of Primary Care and Oral Health

Health Resources and Services Administration

NNOHA

Primary Care Collaborative

Safety Net Medical Home Initiative

Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Group on Oral Health

Contact

For information about the project or assistance, contact OHRC.