dental clinic room with chair and tools

Reynolds Publishes Article on Persisting Inequities in Dental Insurance and Oral Health

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Julie Reynolds, research fellow in the Health Policy Research Program, co-authored a journal article detailing dental insurance and oral health inequities in the United States, published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology and co-authored by faculty from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry and City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy.

While the oral health status of the U.S. population has improved, significant racial/ethnic inequities still exist, including Black Americans carrying a greater burden of oral diseases in most measured outcomes. Access to dental care is a major structural and societal determinant of oral health inequities rooted in structural racism. This article presents numerous racist policies that have shaped access to dental insurance for Black Americans, explains the unique challenges of Medicare and Medicaid in regard to these disparities, and proposes policy recommendations aimed to reduce racial/ethnic inequities in dental coverage.

Read the full article here.