Our vision
Texas Health Institute’s Oral Health Program advocates for a community where everyone has an equitable opportunity to achieve optimal oral health. We believe that oral health is an integral and essential part of overall health and wellbeing. We employ upstream strategies centered on improving oral health across the lifespan.
We work closely with our partners to implement, evaluate, and disseminate oral health best practices.
We provide strategic planning and program development support to translate evidence into action.
We guide the integration of oral health with general health at the local, state and national levels.
We work closely with our partners to implement, evaluate, and disseminate oral health best practices.
We provide strategic planning and program development support to translate evidence into action.
We guide the integration of oral health with general health at the local, state and national levels.
our approach
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Produce Evidence & IdeasHospital utilization for non traumatic dental conditions in Texas: Treatment in the hospital setting represents one of the most expensive care modalities available for treatment of dental conditions. Care provided within emergency departments (ED) for NTDC’s is non-definitive and those seeking care receive only antibiotics and pain medicine, frequently an opioid2. This treatment is palliative in nature and, as it is not comprehensive, often leads to revisits. Worse, if left untreated, conditions become so severe that the dental diagnosis necessitates an inpatient (IP) admission to ensure appropriate and timely medical treatment.
As a result, Texas Health Institute (THI) conducted an analysis of emergency department utilization and inpatient admissions for non-traumatic dental conditions in Texas. click here Oral Health Needs Index: The Oral Health Needs Index is designed to be an easy to access, place-based analytic tool with resources that links environmental and social determinants of health, health behaviors, and healthcare access to oral health outcomes. OHNI is a partnership between Texas Health Institute, Critical Learning Systems, Inc., and National Community Mapping Institute at Meharry Medical College. click here |
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Translate & Share InsightsImplementing a Medicaid Dental Benefit for Adults with Disabilities Can Yield Significant Cost Savings: Texas Health Institute developed a cost analysis brief to support ongoing efforts to expand access to oral health for adults with disabilities in Texas. This brief builds upon THI’s prior research on hospital and ED utilization trends for treatment of non-traumatic dental conditions, and legislative efforts during the 2019 session. Most importantly, this brief addresses key gaps identified in the fiscal note that the legislative budget board submitted in March 2019. This research was supported through funding from the DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement. The issue brief benefited from technical support from the American Dental Association Health Policy Institute and review by Dennis Borel, Executive Director of Coalition for Texans with Disabilities. Click here to download the full report.
Oral Health in Texas: First of its kind report on oral health in Texas that provides a data based portrait of oral health in our state, at the county , regional, and state level. Additionally, it provides a comprehensive review of scientific literature and available evidence to further develop the understanding of oral health and its importance for overall health and well-being click here
Advance Collaborative ActionAdvancing the Oral Health Movement in Texas: Research shows that health outcomes for any community are impacted by several social and environmental factors. Strong and sustainable collaborative efforts with a multidimensional approach are necessary to successfully impact policy and improve population health. This initiative has been designed to address the interconnected challenges the current oral health system in Texas faces and overcome related barriers with a multidimensional approach. In collaboration with the Texas Oral Health Coalition, THI co-leads and serves as the fiscal home and backbone for the initiative since 2016. click here
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