CORRECTION: In the news release, ADA Launches Community Dental Health Coordinator Pilot Program at Temple University, issued 24-Nov-2009 by American Dental Association over PR Newswire, we are advised by the organization that the ninth paragraph, second sentence, should read “Salish Kootenai College in Montana” rather than “in Wyoming” as originally issued inadvertently. The complete, corrected release follows

ADA Launches Community Dental Health Coordinator Pilot Program at Temple University

CHICAGO, Nov. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Dental Association (ADA) has signed an agreement with Temple University to train new dental team members as part of a pilot program to improve the oral health in underserved communities.

The Community Dental Health Coordinator (CDHC) is a member of the dental health team who works in communities where residents have limited access to dental care to improve their oral health.

The CDHC provides a limited range of preventive dental care services — including screenings and fluoride treatments. However, of greater importance to these communities, the CDHC will help patients navigate the health system and access care by a dentist or an appropriate clinic and engage in educational activities to improve community members’ oral health habits.

Temple will recruit and train CDHCs from urban locations in Philadelphia over the next two years, returning them to their communities to work as dental team members under the supervision of dentists.

Although the CDHC is a new dental team member whose merits are not yet known, many studies of the community health worker (CHW) model indicate that they can make significant contributions to a community. Because the CDHC will function much like a CHW, the ADA believes that they, too, will have a positive impact on the oral health of their communities through education and outreach.

“We are delighted to welcome Temple’s participation,” said ADA President Dr. Ron Tankersley. “The pilot at Temple will help us understand the effectiveness of a dental health coordinator in underserved urban settings.”

Dr. Amid Ismail, dean of Temple University’s Kornberg School of Dentistry and one of the architects of the CDHC program, explained why the program is seeking to place CDHC trainees in their own communities.

“Our aim is to ensure that the coordinator is able to bridge the gap between local cultures and health care systems. The CDHC can help improve people’s oral health habits and help patients navigate the social and bureaucratic barriers that prevent them from gaining access to available dental health services,” Dr. Ismail said.

Temple is the third of three pilot CDHC program sites. Two other pilot programs are directed by University of Oklahoma, which is training CDHCs from rural areas, and the University of California at Los Angeles, which, in conjunction with Salish Kootenai College in Montana, is training students from American Indian communities.

The ADA has funded the program, which will train six students per site each year.

About the American Dental Association

The not-for-profit ADA is the nation’s largest dental association, representing more than 157,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public’s health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA’s state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance long has been a valuable and respected guide to consumer dental care products. The monthly Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) is the ADA’s flagship publication and the best-read scientific journal in dentistry. For more information about the ADA, visit the Association’s Web site at www.ada.org.

SOURCE American Dental Association

Credit: American Dental Association

More than 50 percent of the children enrolled in 80 elementary schools in Salt Lake, Davis and Tooele counties are living in poverty. Those children, who reside in low-income households, usually suffer from significant amounts of tooth decay and lack of oral health care. Dental Select recognizes the need of Utah’s underprivileged children in the community and has committed to financially supporting Sealants for Smiles, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing oral-health education and dental sealants to underserved children.

Recently honored as the title sponsor at Sealants for Smiles 2nd Annual Gala Benefit held at the Grand America in Salt Lake City, Dental Select was recognized for its 2009 contribution of more than $400,000. This commitment will allow Sealants for Smiles to expand school visits into more Utah counties, increase the number of oral health presentations, and ultimately place more sealants on the 2nd and 6th grade children who need them.

During the 2007 and 2008 school year, Dental Select contributed more than $420,000 to Sealants for Smiles. As the sole administrator for this program, Dental Select continually provides Sealants for Smiles with necessary technology expenses, an office facility, staff wages and salaries in order to allow 100% of donations to go directly toward advancing program services.

In the past two years, Sealants for Smiles has placed more than 31,000 dental sealants on children who were screened with moderate to urgent dental needs. Because of Dental Select’s contributions, Sealants for Smiles can continue to expand and see a larger percentage of underprivileged children each year to improve Utah’s community youth.

Dental Select, headquartered in Salt Lake City, is the largest dental provider in the state of Utah, and provides benefits to more than 5,000 client groups across Utah, Texas and Nevada. Dental Select specializes in affordable and flexible dental plans, offering a wide array of discount, PPO, Indemnity, and self-funded dental plans. With over 20 years experience, Dental Select has been a recurring Utah 100 company, and on the Inc. 500 list of America’s fastest growing companies. More information regarding Dental Select is available by visiting the company’s web site at www.dentalselect.com or by calling 800-999-9789.

Health Reform Bill unveiled in Senate yesterday contains key provisions to provide unprecedented oral health resources for all Americans

Children’s Dental Health Project

Meg Booth, 202-441-0299

Logo: http://www.cdhp.org

The Children’s Dental Health Project (CDHP) today applauded the U.S. Senate for recognizing the importance of oral health with the introduction of its health reform bill. Unveiled last night, the Senate’s bill includes a historic commitment to strengthen oral health among the nation’s vulnerable populations, and is a major step toward matching public resources to counter the “silent epidemic” of poor oral health among America’s children that was the subject of a warning from the U.S. Surgeon General more than a decade ago.

“The Senate has taken a historic step toward safeguarding the oral health of millions of Americans,” said CDHP chair and founder Dr. Burt Edelstein. “From prevention and treatment to more effective use of data and workforce development, the Senate’s health care reform bill is a strong commitment to children and other populations who are most vulnerable to dental disease. In particular, Senator Jeff Bingaman, in addition to Senators Snowe, Rockefeller, Dodd, and Reid have been champions for provisions in this bill that have the potential to improve dental health for children and families across the nation.”

The Senate bill includes the following oral health care measures:

– Expanded coverage. Insurance coverage for pediatric oral health services and eligibility for preventive oral health services without co-payments.

– Prevention. Dental disease prevention initiatives including public education, school-based sealant programs in all 50 states, and research grants for dental caries management.

– Tracking and monitoring. Resources for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other organizations that track of oral health and the use of dental services among pregnant women and other vulnerable populations.

– Workforce development. Expanded training programs and education resources for general, pediatric and public health dentists and those who train and educate future dental caregivers in rural areas and among underserved populations; and demonstration grants for alternative dental health providers.

– Safety net improvements. Initiatives to provide more access to care including federally-funded school-based health centers and creation of a commission to study oral healthcare workforce capacity.

– Infrastructure improvements. Public health infrastructure improvements in the states to bolster public oral health programs, including CDC authorization to establish oral health leadership and program guidance, oral health data collection and interpretation, a multi-dimensional delivery system for oral health, and science-based programs to improve oral health.

The House’s health care reform bill passed earlier this month contains many of the same measures, which Edelstein said points to a bicameral commitment to improving oral health.

“As the bill moves toward passage in the Senate and a conference with the U.S. House, it is vital to preserve these provisions,” said Edelstein. “We are confident that members of the House and Senate will remain steadfast in their commitment to oral health and will work together to ensure that the oral health measures contained in this legislation remain strong.”

About the Children’s Dental Health Project:

The Children’s Dental Health Project advances policies that improve children’s access to oral health through research-driven policies and innovative solutions by engaging a broad base of partners committed to children and oral health. For additional information please visit, www.cdhp.org.

DentalPlans.com, a US online marketer of discount dental plans, said on Monday that it has become a partner of Delta SkyMiles, the frequent flyer scheme of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL).

This new agreement allows Delta SkyMiles members to earn miles when they join any discount dental plan from DentalPlans.com.

Active SkyMiles members will earn 1,500 miles for joining a family discount dental plan and 1,000 miles for joining an individual discount dental plan. DentalPlans.com is also offering SkyMiles members up to 2,000 miles when joining, for a limited time.

Unions representing thousands of teachers and state and local government workers are bracing for the worst if Congress adopts a proposed “Cadillac” tax on health insurance.

The 40 percent levy on health care costs above $8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for families passed the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Oct. 13. If the tax were to become law, experts said, government employees in New York would be hit hard because their powerful unions have negotiated benefits that go beyond medical and prescription drug coverage to include, among others, dental and vision.

The tax would be paid by insurers who then are expected to pass it along in the form of higher premiums, deductibles and co-pays.

“A lot of state workers would qualify because of the dental and vision, and the fact that health care is the fastest growing expense,” said Kenneth Brynien, head of the 59,000-member state Public Employees Federation.

For and against

Supporters of the “Cadillac” tax, proposed to take effect in 2013, said it would act as a brake on runaway health care costs. They argued that employers and unions would scale back benefits to avoid the tax thresholds.

Employers “then would convert the resulting savings into higher wages or fringe benefits for their employees,” said Paul N. Van de Water of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington-based think tank.

But opponents of the tax predicted widespread erosion of health benefits. They said people with comprehensive insurance plans would be unfairly pitted against those with lesser ones, in order to pay for coverage for the uninsured.

“You’re penalizing people for having good health care benefits . . . and pushing everybody down to the lowest common denominator,” said Stephen Madarasz, spokesman for the 85,000-member Civil Service Employees Association, the largest union of state workers.

Sympathy for the hardships of bureaucrats, teachers and police may be muted, however.

“These people have some nerve,” said Fred Gorman, of Nesconset, an advocate for school property tax relief. “They pay next to nothing in premiums. They earn much more than the average homeowner, and now they want sympathy because someone says, ‘You got to pay taxes on your health benefits.’ “

Nonetheless, the public-sector unions, including CSEA and PEF, are sounding an alarm over the tax and lobbying to derail it.

The fight in Washington has revived questions about why government employees have such robust health care and whether it can be sustained when public treasuries have been depleted by the recession.

A review of benefits shows large disparities between the public and private sectors, with the exception of top executives and unionized manufacturing workers, who often have generous coverage.

Employee contributions to premiums also are lower in government. State workers and teachers pay between 5 percent and 20 percent depending on coverage type. Suffolk workers and Nassau workers hired before January 2002 pay nothing.

Unions are quick to point out that wages for government service are lower than for comparable work in business. Generous benefits, they said, offset smaller salaries and were won through tough bargaining.

“People went into public service even though they knew the salary was less because they knew there was [job] security, health benefits and a pension,” said Brynien, of the state Public Employees Federation.

Politicians back richer health benefits because they often rely on union contributions and get-out-the-vote operations to stay in office. There’s also less risk of voter backlash with benefit gains, compared to wage increases, political observers said.

“No working politician will stand up to the public unions,” said Richard Epstein, a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, a conservative think tank.

Tackling LI’s costs

Nassau and Suffolk officials have been working with unions to rein in health care expenses. But experts said costs are higher on Long Island and in New York City than many places, in part because of state mandates.

The Senate legislation acknowledges this and provides a limited remedy. Tax thresholds for New York and 16 other high-cost states would be set higher in the first year and gradually decline to the national level over the next two years.

Over time, the tax would affect more government workers and people in the private sector. “We’re going to get hit and so is just about everyone on Long Island who has health insurance,” said Carl Korn, spokesman for the 600,000-member New York State United Teachers union.

In Suffolk, passing along the tax would be complicated by the county’s self-insured status, with benefit plans jointly administered by labor and management. Any change would require negotiations with the unions.

Jeffrey L. Tempera, Suffolk’s director of labor relations, said, “I don’t see how the county or any municipality could eat those costs.”

Taxing “Cadillac” health plans

Legislation adopted by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee includes tax on high-cost health insurance plans sponsored by employers, beginning in 2013. Here’s how it would work:

-A 40 percent tax imposed on health plan costs above $8,000 a year for individual coverage and $21,000 for a family coverage.

-Retirees age 55 and up, and members of high-risk occupations such as police and construction would be exempt unless their plans were above $9,850 for individuals or $26,000 for families.

-Increases in these thresholds would be tied to the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers, plus 1 percentage point.

-Insurers pay the tax but likely would pass along the expense to workers.

-In New York and 16 other states with the highest health care costs, the thresholds would be set higher in 2013, and gradually decline to the national level by 2016. The thresholds in 2013 would be:

—Individual coverage: $9,600

—Family coverage: $25,200

High-risk professions and retirees:

—Individual coverage: $11,820

—Family coverage: $31,200

Note: A health plan’s cost is based on more than medical and prescription drug coverage. The total value also includes coverage for dental, vision and supplementary medical/catastrophic events, along with reimbursements under flexible spending accounts for medical expenses or health reimbursement arrangements and employer contributions to employee health savings accounts.

Delta Dental of California

Elizabeth Risberg, 415-972-8423

erisberg@delta.org

Delta Dental of California today announced the appointment of Benjamin Lowry as director of Southern California sales.

Lowry brings more than 15 years of experience in sales, employee benefits and consulting, including eight years with VSP, where he was responsible for sales and account management in Southern California. Prior to that, Lowry was a sales consultant for Automatic Data Processing and a systems consultant for Hewitt Associates. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Iowa and has completed graduate coursework at Pepperdine University.

As Delta Dental’s regional sales director, Lowry will supervise sales account executives in the company’s Cerritos and San Diego sales offices.

Delta Dental of California, Pennsylvania and its affiliated companies within its holding company system, along with Delta Dental of New York, are all part of the Delta Dental Plans Association (DDPA), based in Oak Brook, Ill. DDPA consists of 39 Delta Dental member companies licensed in all 50 states. The association collectively covers nearly 52 million of the 173 million people nationwide with private dental insurance, making it by far the largest national system of dental plans.

Duplicating services isn’t an effective way to better the community; instead, financially supporting local programs that already are working to help families and kids in Finney County is the goal of one local agency.

“We want to create opportunities for children to be healthy, and we hope the end result is that it’ll set children up for success so that when they start school, they’re better prepared to succeed,” said Rebecca Clancy, executive director of Smart Start, one of 21 local agencies receiving funding from the Finney County United Way’s annual campaign, which has a goal of raising $550,000 this year. “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel — we try to be involved in what’s going on in the community already, to bridge gaps in services that might not be getting enough funding.”

The director of the local children’s agency said Smart Start’s dollars are designed to be flexible to cater to the needs of a particular community.

The local children’s agency aims to ensure that Kansas children are healthy and prepared to succeed in school and does so by providing flexible funding to communities and organizations that maintain programs and projects that focus on early childhood health and education for children from birth to age 5.

Clancy said her agency’s receipt of funds is not only pumped back directly into local programs but also allows the educational organization that serves 12 other neighboring counties from its Garden City office to demonstrate local fiscal support so that it can acquire larger state funds.

“(The United Way’s support) helps us secure bigger grant dollars that we bring to southwest Kansas,” Clancy said. “Of course, each year these dollars are up for debate as the state government sees other shortfalls, so we work really hard to preserve those dollars so we can invest in our children here, build secure homes and have them go to school, so they can contribute to the local economy.”

Though Smart Start serves organizations in neighboring counties including Grant, Greeley, Hamilton, Haskell, Kearny, Lane, Morton, Scott, Seward, Stanton, Stevens and Wichita, local United Way dollars are used only for programs within Finney County, Clancy said.

The agency, which is fiscally sponsored by the Russell Child Development Center, hasn’t yet identified where about $2,000 — about 2 percent of its operating budget — in United Way funding will go this year, but in past years, financial support has been directed to Lifetime Smiles, a dental program for kids operated through United Methodist Mexican-American Ministries, and Wee Readers, a story time program at the Finney County Public Library.

Clancy said she appreciates the United Way’s help to meet the special challenges the regional agency faces in this part of the state.

“We serve a larger part of the state than some of the other Smart Starts in Kansas, and many of our citizens have to overcome transportation barriers, so we’re very mobile, and we work really hard to overcome that,” Clancy said. “We also work to be helpful to non-English speaking residents, because we do have a higher population of people who don’t speak English or speak multiple other languages. We work really hard to translate materials and bridge language barriers to help families get what they need.”

Other organizations receiving United Way funding include the following partner agencies: United Methodist Mexican-American Ministries, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Finney and Kearny Counties, Community Day Care, Emmaus House, Spirit of the Plains CASA, Russell Child Development Center, Garden City Area Chapter of the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Miles of Smiles, Kansas Children’s Service League Head Start, United Cerebral Palsy of Kansas, Catholic Social Service, Family Crisis Services Inc., Meals on Wheels, Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association, Garden City Family YMCA, The Garden City Recreation Commission Playground Program, Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Santa Fe Trail Council Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland.

Smart Start

Contact: Rebecca Clancy, director

Address: 714 Ballinger St.

Phone: 275-1510

Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Web site: http://www.smartstartswks.org

Credit: The Garden City Telegram, Kan.

Connectyx Technologies Holdings Group Inc. is pleased to announce its decision to offer discount dental plans to its MedFlash ePHR members as part of a recent collaboration with DentalPlans.com, the leading online provider of discount dental plans (see also Connectyx Technologies Holdings Group, Inc.).

In turn, DentalPlans.com will offer Connectyx’s MedFlash(TM) product to its members. This collaboration is a natural fit as both companies offer products that give their members the opportunity to enhance their overall health. MedFlash(TM) members will have access to special savings on discount dental plans, cost-effective dental insurance alternatives, while DentalPlans.com members will have access to an affordable, portable solution for keeping easily accessible, up-to-date personal health records.

“Our collaboration with DentalPlans.com is a win-win situation because it enables both of our organizations to increase our respective membership bases. I am happy to offer our customers the ability to access quality and affordable dental care with discount dental plans from DentalPlans.com,” said Ronn Schuman, Connectyx President and CEO.

“We’re excited to offer the MedFlash product to our members,” said Evelyn Hennick, Director of Business Development at DentalPlans.com. “This product can help members easily access personal health records – enhancing their overall health care experience – and that is a primary goal at DentalPlans.com.”

Participate in the American Dental Association (ADA) Web-based survey at www.ada.org/goto/publicsurvey and become eligible to win a $150 Amazon.com gift certificate and, at the same time, help redesign the ADA’s Web site, ADA.org (see also <http://www.newsrx.com/library/topics/American-Dental-Association.html> American Dental Association).

ADA.org provides news and information on hundreds of dental topics, ranging from basic dental care to baby’s first tooth to gum disease to tooth whitening. These topics also include an extensive video collection of various oral health subjects.

The survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete, shares three creative designs and asks participants their opinion of each one. Feedback from the survey will help the Association select a design that prompts visitors to make ADA.org their primary source for oral health information. Everyone who completes the survey by Monday, Aug. 17, 2009 is automatically in the drawing for a $150 Amazon.com gift certificate. However, to be eligible to win, participants must be at least 18 years of age and reside in the United States.

The ADA will announce the winner of the gift certificate later this month.

About the American Dental Association

Celebrating its 150th anniversary, the not-for-profit ADA is the nation’s largest dental association, representing more than 156,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public’s health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA’s state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance long has been a valuable and respected guide to consumer dental care products. The monthly Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) is the best-read scientific journal in dentistry. For more information about the ADA, visit the Association’s Web site at www.ada.org

Keywords: American Dental Association, Gum Disease.

Two students from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Dental School have received one-time scholarships of $2,500 per student from United Concordia Dental to help pay for tuition. Maritza Chavez, 23, of McAllen, Texas, and Winston Faltine, 25, of Houston, were chosen for their academic achievements and contributions to the community.

“We are proud to provide these two outstanding students with scholarships,” said Harlon L. Robinson, corporate vice president of human resources and administration and diversity chairman, United Concordia Dental. “This program is an example of United Concordia Dental’s longstanding commitment to the education of women and minority students.”

United Concordia Dental created a scholarship and grant program to help recruit women and minorities to the dentistry profession and to improve access to dental care for those in need.

“Many dental schools realize that minority communities have a disproportionate burden of dental problems and a short supply of minority providers,” said Gary Delz, DDS, United Concordia’s Texas dental director. “This year’s recipients have demonstrated a strong desire to help their communities through a career in dentistry.”

After graduation from dental school in 2013, Faltine and Chavez plan to provide dental services to the underinsured and uninsured. Chavez said she plans to use her skills as a dentist to serve children in the Rio Grande Valley, where she grew up. “I chose to become a dentist because when I was growing up, my family could not afford dental care,” Chavez said. “I believe that as a health care professional, I will be in a position where I can help serve the needy. When I graduate, I plan to return to the Rio Grande Valley and serve my community.”

Faltine said he hopes to practice in Texas. His wish to become a dentist started in Venezuela, where he was born and raised. “I grew up in a small town where my mom was one of the few dentists available,” he said. “We lived above my mother’s dental clinic, and I still remember watching patients coming to the house during weekends and holidays with teeth issues. My commitment and passion began there and remains strong. As I learn more about this exciting field, it grows even stronger.”

United Concordia awarded scholarships and grants to 20 students during the 2008-2009 school year at the Harrisburg (Pa.) Area Community College (HACC) Dental Hygiene Program; Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry; University of North Carolina School of Dentistry; University of New Mexico Division of Dental Hygiene; and University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Dental School. The grants were awarded to students at six Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Bowie State and Morgan State universities in Md., and Elizabeth City State, North Carolina A&T State, North Carolina Central and Winston Salem State universities in North Carolina.

Keywords: Pediatrics, Dentistry, Pediatrics, United Concordia.