The Partnership for Integrating Oral Health Care into Primary Care Project—top Accomplishments

Background: The Partnership for Integrating Oral Health Care into Primary Care (PIOHCPC) project was launched to improve access to oral health care by integrating the interprofessional oral health core clinical competencies into primary care. The competencies, described in the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) report Integration of Oral Health and Primary Care Practice, facilitate change in the clinical practice of primary care health professionals (PCPs) working in safety net settings.1 Health professionals providing primary care include family physicians, pediatricians, obstetricians, nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.

The PIOHCPC project was funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau and supported by the National Maternal and Child Center for Oral Health Systems Integration and Improvement (COHSII). COSHII, led by the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center, worked with the National Network for Oral Health Access to provide technical assistance to the PIOHCPC project teams.

Methods: The PIOHCPC project teams were selected from five states—Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, and Rhode Island. Each team consisted of a state Title V maternal and child health (MCH) program or oral health program that was addressing the Title V national performance measure (NPM) on oral health, NPM 13, as well as a local primary care setting. The PIOHCPC project targeted pregnant women, children, and adolescents at high risk for oral disease. It was implemented from January 2019 through June 2021.

Results: The PIOHCPC projects had several accomplishments related to integrating oral health care into primary care, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic that ushered in changes in direct patient care and primary care setting foci. Accomplishments at the primary care setting level included educating PCPs about oral health using Smiles for Life: A National Oral Health Curriculum and in-person trainings; incorporating oral health risk assessment into clinical workflows; implementing current dental terminology (CDT) codes and dot phrases in electronic health records to document oral health care; establishing effective systems for oral health referrals; and integrating oral health education and self-management goal setting into primary care visits. Additionally, state Title V MCH programs or oral health programs and primary care settings established strong partnerships to support and expand upon the success of their work in other settings across the states.

Conclusion: The PIOHCPC projects had notable accomplishments. Findings from the project will contribute to the field’s understanding of integrating oral health care into primary care. More work is needed at federal, state, and local levels to ensure that oral health is an integral component of primary care visits to ultimately improve oral health and reduce oral health disparities and inequities for pregnant women, children, and adolescents.

1. Health Resources and Services Administration. 2014. Integration of Oral Health and Primary Care Practice. Rockville, MD: Health Resources and Services Administration.