Advancing Oral Health Equity through Medical-Dental Integration: Dental hygienists as catalysts for change in an evolving health care system.

Abstract

This report explores the changing landscape of oral health care delivery in the United States, highlighting the evolving role of dental hygienists. The 2021 National Institutes of Health report "Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges" has become a key milestone in addressing oral health inequities, acknowledging the important role that dental hygienists could play in expanding innovative care models, and promoting medical-dental integration (MDI). The Rainbow Model of Integrated Care offers a framework to examine facilitators of MDI care models, revealing supportive policies, interprofessional collaborative practice, incremental change, and local leadership as some of the crucial components needed for success. Dental hygienists emerge as catalysts for change, as such, the overarching aim of this report is to contribute to the broader conversation about optimizing oral health care accessibility through integrated care models led by dental hygienists.