Promoting preventive dental visits for children

The New York State Medicaid Dental Policy Team is launching a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) affinity project focused on promoting preventive dental visits for children. The goal of this initiative is to increase the percentage of children ages 0–6 who receive an oral evaluation, as measured by the Dental Quality Alliance Oral Evaluation, Dental Services: Ages <1 through 20 (OEV-CH) measure.

The Rochester region has been identified as an initial focus area, specifically Livingston, Monroe and Ontario counties. Dental providers serving children in these counties play a critical role in helping close gaps in preventive oral health care.

How you can help

You’re encouraged to support this initiative by:

• Proactively scheduling preventive oral evaluations for children younger than age 6, particularly for children who have not had a recent dental visit
• Encouraging caregivers to establish a dental home for children starting at age 1 and to maintain routine preventive visits
• Identifying missed opportunities for care, such as scheduling preventive visits when children are present for other services or when siblings are seen
• Supporting access to care, including offering routine, non urgent preventive appointments within required appointment availability standards

By working together, we can improve preventive oral health outcomes for young children and increase performance on the OEV-CH quality measure in the Rochester area.