How does this role benefit the work of the organization and the profession?
The purpose of this research is to develop novel ways to assess the oral health of US children, and subgroups of children, over time using nationally representative data. Children are selected as the target group, as oral health issues in children are generally preventable with inexpensive care, as compared to when the disease spreads. Undetected or delayed oral health care impacts the overall health of children, their quality of life, and school outcomes. Oral health issues in children impact their lives as adults, with increasing severity as one ages. Thus, understanding the determinants of maintaining good oral health can increase positive outcomes and reduce unnecessary and potentially expensive dental and medical expenditures.
This research will be particularly helpful to understanding the impacts on Oral Health on current and future medical claims of children. Social Determinants of Health also play a key role in this discussion as many of the adverse conditions contributing to absent or insufficient oral health is often based on income, race, zip code, and family situation. This proposed research will leverage regularly collected detailed socioeconomic and medical/dental utilization data to examine the use of dental care (both preventive and procedural) by different populations and link the resultant clusters to outcomes such as overall health, expenditures, and school days missed. While dental care and dental insurance have historically been separated from medical care and medical insurance, the spillover effects of poor oral health lead to higher medical costs. Children with better oral health would reduce both dental and medical costs by eliminating future expensive complications of poor oral health. Further, better oral health in children would reduce dental and medical costs regardless of the type of insurance (i.e. separate dental, Medicaid, SCHIP, or private medical) and for the uninsured. Visits to the emergency room, with possible opioid prescriptions written for nontraumatic dental conditions or unmet dental need, could be reduced. Comparisons of access and outcomes of children between those uninsured, with Medicaid or SCHIP, and with private insurance would provide beneficial information for potential interventions, insurance design, and public policy. Interested audiences for this work include actuaries, state Medicaid agencies, health services researchers, dental and medical providers, and those in public health.
Responsibilities & Duties
Project Oversight Groups (POGs) provide guidance and input to researchers, oversee the progress of the work, and ensure it is in line with the proposal. POG members are expected to review draft materials prior to conference calls and provide input during the calls. It is expected that there will be one-hour conference calls approximately monthly for the duration of the project.
Time Commitment
Most time will be spent reviewing materials and participating on conference calls.
Experience Required
Member, Non-Member or Candidate
Individuals with experience in Public Health or Medicaid populations are preferred
Opportunity Location
Non- County Specific
Travel Required
None
SOA Training Required
None
Primary Area of Practice
Health
Specializations
- Open to all Specializations
- Health Insurance – Public Systems
- Public Systems/Social Insurance