North Carolina Institute of Medicine Task Force on Dental Care Access. Report to the North Carolina General Assembly to the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

摘要

The issues and problems addressed in this report are multifaceted and complex, requiring multiple strategies and actions by both the public and private sectors. Increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates is a necessary, but not sufficient, response to the problem of inadequate access to dental services. North Carolina needs to simultaneously increase the supply of dentists and dental hygienists$ build a capacity among safety-net providers to address the dental care needs of low-income, Medicaid-eligible and special needs populations$ and educate these groups about the importance of on-going comprehensive dental care. In addition, more emphasis must be placed on dental education and prevention strategies, to prevent costly and painful dental disease, especially among children. The 23 recommendations in this report, if acted upon, would go a great distance toward the goal of assuring adequate preventive and curative dental health care for those groups within our states population who presently suffer the consequences of inadequate access to dental care.