Awareness of Oral Health’s Impact Isn’t Improving — Preventistry Can Help

A lot has changed about how Americans view and access health care over the last two years as a result of the coronavirus pandemic — and oral health is no exception. 
 

The 2022 State of America’s Oral Health and Wellness Report, released last month by the Delta Dental Plans Association, is a nationwide analysis of consumer opinions and behaviors relating to oral health. The data highlights some interesting insights into the pandemic recovery and how it applies to oral health. It also points to a concerning trend: awareness of the connections between oral and overall health are not improving.

As the pandemic continues into a third year, “more adults in this year’s survey than those polled in 2021 are unable to make the connection between dental issues and other more serious or disruptive health conditions,” the report states. The good news is, while many adults are unaware of how oral health and overall health are connected, most indicate that they are interested in learning more.

“Over the past 30 years, science has increasingly shown the association between gum disease and heart disease, diabetes, pulmonary disease and dementia, among other serious health conditions,” Dr. Linda Vidone, Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer at Delta Dental of Massachusetts, noted in the report. “One recent study found gum inflammation could increase the risk of cognitive dysfunction, while other research indicated poor oral health is connected to worse COVID-19 outcomes. Many studies demonstrate the importance of taking care of your mouth as a part of supporting overall health and wellness.”

As patients begin to return to the dentist’s office in greater numbers this year, it is an important time to reinforce these connections and the value of preventive dental care.

While the report states that significantly more people visited their dentist for preventive reasons in 2021 than in the prior year, an analysis of Delta Dental of Massachusetts claims data shows that preventive visits per month are still down 10% from pre-pandemic levels. By contrast, visits for major services (root canals, tooth extractions) in 2021 are at, or in some months above, pre-pandemic levels.

It’s why this year, Delta Dental of Massachusetts is leveraging claims data in a unique way, creating a “Preventistry Patient Report” individualized and shared with every network dentist, detailing which of their patients who are Delta Dental members are overdue for preventive care and may be at higher risk for oral disease. The first report was released in February 2022 and dentists will continue to receive updated reports every six months, with the next report due out in August.

“The goal of sharing data in this way is to increase transparency and give dental providers improved access to information they can use to reach out directly to patients and reinforce the need for preventive oral health care — and better overall health,” says Vidone.

In doing so, we can help ensure that next year, and in the years to come, people will report a better understanding of the impact oral health on overall health and the value of Preventistry.

Find information on the Preventistry Patient Report on the provider portal in the Plan Messages section.