Takeaways from Big Bend Dental Access Listening Session
The high cost of dental care, long wait times for appointments, and inability to find dentists who take their insurance were common concerns voiced today by citizens who attended the Big Bend Dental Access Listening Session at the AC Hotel Tallahassee by the Capitol. In fact, Floridians continue to call for increased access to basic […]
National Media Questions Organized Dentistry’s Push Against Dental Therapy
With all published research supporting dental therapy as a safe, effective way to increase access to quality dental care, more news organizations are questioning why organized dentistry is pushing back. NPR recently ran a 3-minute news story and a 9-minute podcast about dental therapy. Both are absolutely worth a listen and feature Dr. Jane Grover- spokesperson for the American Dental Association- […]
Florida’s Dental Crisis Deepens with over 7 Million Living in Shortage Areas
Florida is the worst state in the nation for dental access and the crisis is continuing to deepen, according to recently released data by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Sixty five of Florida’s 67 counties are now designated in full or in part as a Dental Health Professional Shortage Area, defined as exceeding […]
Floridians Share Disturbing Stories of Pain and Suffering
“I have only 10 teeth left. They are all on my bottom jaw; they are broken at or near the gum line and completely rotted,” said Shawn S. from Brevard County. “I get infections at least once a month so I am constantly on antibiotics. Dentists want $2500 to pull them which I can’t afford. […]
New Report Spotlights Pediatric Emergency Department Use for Dental Care in Florida
Children Seeking Emergency Care for Non-Traumatic Dental Conditions Among the Highest Rates in the Country A new report by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health®, a leading national nonprofit focused on creating a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system, spotlights pediatric emergency department use for dental care in Florida. Researchers found that children in […]
Oral Health: Florida’s Unrecognized Public Health Crisis
COVID-19. Toxic blue-green algae. Asthma. Monkey Pox. Hardly a day goes by without a public health challenge making headlines in Florida. A growing, yet often unnoticed, public health crisis is the rotten state of many Floridians’ teeth and gums. Oral health problems don’t just affect an individual’s teeth. They affect our physical health as well […]
Over Six Million Floridians Are Not Smiling
By Frank Catalanotto, DMD. There’s nothing to smile about in Florida this February, which is National Children’s Dental Health Month. The state of children’s oral health in Florida is abysmal, indeed some would say in crisis. The latest data clearly demonstrates that the oral health of Florida’s children is among the worst in the nation. […]
New Coalition Forms to SolveFlorida’s Untreated Public Health Crisis
Communities across Florida are struggling with chronic dental access shortages and serious consideration is needed regarding widespread improvements. Poor oral health resulting from dental access shortages have risen to public health crisis levels. Florida leads the nation in the number of individuals living in areas designated as Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas. Sixty-six of Florida’s […]