Dental Hygiene Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

New Huntington Dental Clinic Will Treat Uninsured And Underserved

Ebenezer Medical Outreach will offer general dentistry appointments to the uninsured and Medicaid recipients twice a month, starting Friday.

Huntington-area residents who are uninsured, or insured by West Virginia Medicaid, will have new dental care options starting Friday, Aug. 9.

Ebenezer Medical Outreach will offer general dentistry appointments to the uninsured and Medicaid recipients twice per month at their outreach center at 1448 10th Avenue, Suite 100, Huntington, West Virginia.

While West Virginia Medicaid includes an adult dental benefit, it is not widely accepted by providers. According to a 2023 study, for Medicaid patients, wait times average 95 days for an initial appointment and 44.9 additional days for a treatment visit.

This clinic is made possible through the volunteer efforts of Dr. David Eller, a dentist who served the region for decades until his 2021 retirement, and through the support of Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Department of Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

West Virginia has a shortage of dentists. A 2022 report from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, a department now split into three separate agencies, found that there were 49 dentists per 100,000 population, well below the national average of 61 per 100,000.

According to that same report, The Burden of Oral Disease in West Virginia, 58 percent of West Virginian adults have seen a dentist in the past year, lower than the national average of 68 percent.

That report found that in 2020, almost six of 10 adults, or 56 percent, of West Virginians over the age of 18 had lost at least one permanent tooth.

The West Virginia Oral Health Coalition found in its 2023 analysis of West Virginia’s dental care accessibility that more than 24 percent of dental practices in West Virginia were not accepting new patient appointments and the ones that were had an average wait time of more than 70 days for the first available appointment.

Only 36.7 percent of dental care sites could offer appointments within 30 days, which falls short of the benchmark goals for Medicaid enrollees. Many states including West Virginia have goals in place for Medicaid enrollees to be seen within 30 days.

In addition to 24 percent of practices not accepting new patients and long wait times for first appointments, data analysis found the average wait time for a second appointment to treat dental decay, like a cavity, was an additional 34.6 days and ranged from 1 to 145 days.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

Dental Hygienists Could Aid Tobacco Cessation Under Senate Bill

On Thursday, the West Virginia Senate voted unanimously to grant dental hygienists legal permission to provide clients tobacco cessation services.

Dental hygienists might soon be able to provide their clients tobacco cessation services. But their legal ability to do so first depends on a vote from the West Virginia House of Delegates, after unanimous approval from the West Virginia Senate on Thursday.

Senate Bill 357 places tobacco cessation services within the practice of dental hygienists, given the negative effects tobacco consumption can have on dental health.

Earlier this week, a report released by the American Lung Association found that West Virginia has the lowest ranking possible in tobacco prevention funding and access to tobacco cessation services.

Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier, sponsored the bill alongside Sen. Michael Maroney, R-Marshall. Deeds described it as an effort to expand tobacco cessation resources available for West Virginians.

Deeds said that dental providers are particularly equipped to offer insight into the dangers of tobacco consumption and vaping because they see its after-effects frequently.

Dental hygienists “have an opportunity to educate everyone about their dental health,” Deeds said. “They see the side effects from any kind of tobacco, whether it’s the smokeless tobacco or the vapes.”

In particular, Deeds said that the rise in vape consumption among youth and teenagers warrants new educational resources regarding the dangers of smoking.

“Young people are exposed to a lot of tobacco products through vapes,” Deeds said. “We hope that this is an initial step of educating our young people.”

Accessing Dental Care And Fracking Near Pregnancy, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, a look at access to dental care and the effect of new state vehicle inspection rules.

On this West Virginia Morning, a survey found long wait times for dental appointments in West Virginia. Emily Rice takes a look at access to dental care. Also, Randy Yohe looks at the effect of new state vehicle inspection rules.

And the Allegheny Front’s latest story about the health risks for pregnant women living near fracking sites.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

The Dental Gap

"Those Who Lack Good Oral Health Face Far More Than A Toothless Hillbilly Stereotype" — this episode was recently honored with a regional award from the Associated Press of the Virginias. The first place honor was for best documentary.

Many West Virginians have trouble with their teeth. In fact, there’s a big gap between folks who can reliably access an affordable dentist and those who can’t. That’s no surprise when half the state’s counties have fewer than six dentists. A recent national ranking shows West Virginia is second to last in overall oral health care. A state report shows that by third grade, 56 percent of children show signs of tooth decay, and 12 percent of adults have had all their teeth extracted.

People who don’t have good oral health habits and access to regular and quality dental care elevate their risk of other critical health care issues, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. About more than aesthetics or any toothless hillbilly stereotype, access to dental care is a dangerous culture divide that might look like a class gap but is deeper and far more serious.

This episode was recently honored with a regional award from the Associated Press of the Virginias. The first place honor was for best documentary.

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the West Virginia Humanities Council.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.

Dr. Malav Shah provides dental care for a Boone County resident.

West Virginia Health Right Mobile Dental Clinic parked behind Boone Memorial Hospital in Madison, WV.

Bobbi Muto has been a champion for oral health in West Virginia for decades — first as a dental hygienist then as a public health advocate. She drove Us & Them host Trey Kay to the Health Right Dental Clinic when it stopped in Madison.

Dr. Ron Stollings, an internal medicine physician, is a West Virginia state senator from Boone County. For years, he has been a champion for improving oral health care.

Those Who Lack Good Oral Health Face Far More Than A Toothless Hillbilly Stereotype

People who don’t have good oral health habits and access to regular and quality dental care elevate their risk of other critical health care issues such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. About more than aesthetics or any toothless hillbilly stereotype, access to dental care is a dangerous culture divide that might look like a class gap but is deeper and far more serious.

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the West Virginia Humanities Council.

Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond. You also can listen to Us & Them on WVPB Radio — tune in on the fourth Thursday of every month at 8 p.m., with an encore presentation on the following Saturday at 3 p.m.

West Virginia Health Right Mobile Dental Clinic, parked behind Boone Memorial Hospital in Madison, welcomed patients.

Dr. Ron Stollings, an internal medicine physician, is a West Virginia state senator from Boone County. For years, he has been a champion of better oral health care.

Decades Later, Fluoride Rinse Programs Continue to be Effective in Protecting Against Tooth Decay

School-based fluoride rinse programs have been available to West Virginia schools for decades. Advocates argue they are still one of the cheapest and most effective tools schools have for preventing tooth decay. However, they are not well utilized. Recently, the Bureau for Public Health, which funds these programs, has begun a push to get more schools to take advantage of them.

At Mount Hope Elementary School in Fayette County, health educator Rosalie McCauley passes out toothbrushes and plastic cups of bubblegum-flavored fluoride mouth rinse to students.

“Remember, do not swallow, swish around, and when I say ‘go’ we will begin. Are you ready? Go!” she says to a class of enthusiastic third graders.

The fluoride mouth rinse program is brand new here, and kids and administrators are excited about it. The kids I talked to enjoy “swishing around the mouthwash,” and administrators hope the program will help reduce dental decay (also known as dental caries) in students.

“What the fluoride does is it protects the outer layer, you know the enamel,” says school nurse Jeanne Black. She says the hope is by providing fluoride mouth rinse and oral health education to students, schools can prevent dental decay in the young and teach lifelong oral health habits.

McCauley says she also thinks the program is empowering the students to take charge of their own oral health.

Third grader Hanna Parsons says she has learned “if you want to keep your teeth clean, to take care of them, to brush them and to use mouth wash.”

The most interesting thing she has learned from the program?

“Keeping my teeth clean,” she says, “so [my teeth] don’t fall out.”

Black says that last year she saw a lot of dental caries: ”I mean really bad decayed teeth. The children, they can’t concentrate in school, they just can’t learn, because they are in so much pain.”

McCauley says one of the biggest challenges at Mount Hope is that the community is mostly rural and poor. Most residents use well water that isn’t fluoridated. Administrators also say they suspect that poor nutrition, especially lots of sugary drinks, contributes to the children’s tooth decay.

“Dental health for any population – it contributes to your overall health,” says McCauley. “There is a relationship between poverty and risk for dental caries, and that could be access to dental care, the ability to provide the hygiene you need with the toothbrushes and toothpaste and stuff like that.”

Fluoride rinse programs are voluntary for schools and families. Supplies are free to all elementary schools – but the schools have find someone like McCauley or Black who is willing to do a training and oversee the program – and parents have to sign a permission form for their students to participate.

These programs now reach more than 200 West Virginian elementary schools and 9,600 students.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.