Lessons From Oral Health: Using Philanthropy as a Catalyst for Systems Change

Headline picture from Health Affairs article depicting a medical professional in mask & gloves typing

By Katie Eyes, Stacy Warren March 3, 2020 Health Affairs

Full Article

Revisions to the rules governing dental hygienists employed by, or under contract with, governmental public health entities in North Carolina, which passed on January 16, 2020, expand access to oral health care for underserved residents in the state. Oral health is a critical issue in North Carolina, with more than 2.4 million residents living in areas without enough dentists.

This milestone, supported jointly by the North Carolina Oral Health Collaborative and the North Carolina Dental Society, is one that our two state-level health care foundations—the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation and the Duke Endowment—have aspired to for nearly a decade, recognizing that increasing access to oral health care improves outcomes related to major chronic conditions, lowers health care costs, and, most importantly, improves lives.

Full article: https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20200302.240259/full/