Improving Oral Health for Seniors

Oral health affects more than just the mouth. Research links oral health to many chronic conditions including diabetes, pneumonia, heart disease and stroke. Yet older adults, particularly lower-income older adults, are at greater risk for these diseases and less likely to receive routine oral health care. The result is poor overall health, increased hospital emergency room visits and increased oral disease, and costly healthcare expenditures.

The Washington Dental Service Foundation is addressing these challenges to seniors’ oral health. Through funding non-profit dental clinics to expand services and linking oral health to community-based services, the WDS Foundation is creating additional opportunities for care that is available, affordable, and appropriate to the unique needs of seniors.

The WDS Foundation, in partnership with Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and University of Washington, is also piloting a program, Oral Health Connections, that aims to prevent oral disease among adults age 55 and older who receive Medicaid dental benefits. Oral Health Connections will include local continuing education courses for dental and medical providers and enhanced reimbursement rates for select procedures, including new reimbursements for medical providers to conduct dental screenings and referrals.

The three-year pilot program (2008-2011) is coordinated in Clark County by the Clark County Health Department and by the Aging and Long Term Care agencies in Southeast Washington (Asotin, Benton, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Kittitas, Walla Walla and Yakima counties).

For more information about Oral Health Connections, contact Jessica Mortensen, Program Officer, jmortensen@deltadentalwa.com or call (206) 528-7344.