The DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement, a nonprofit organization working to transform the broken health care system and enable better health through oral health, today announced a new partnership with Community Care Cooperative (C3), a first of its kind Medicaid Accountable Care Organization comprised of 19 Federally-Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) in Massachusetts. The two organizations will support FQHC dental practices to develop a layered approach to reopening, following the Commonwealth’s stay-at-home order which suspended all routine dental services.  

The program, COVID-19 Oral Health Recovery and Transformation (COHRT), will align with expected guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is designed to establish a new standard of safety for patients and the dental team while creating a clear path to economic stability and recovery.  

“Federally-qualified health centers serve as our oral health care safety net,” said Myechia Minter-Jordan, President and CEO of the DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement and Catalyst Institute, Inc. “As we begin to reopen our state, FQHCs can pave the way forward by redefining what it means to deliver safe and effective oral health care through an integrated, value-based model that effectively leverages technology.” 

The DentaQuest Partnership will support C3 by establishing a learning community open to all FQHCs operating in the Commonwealth. The goal of the learning community is to help participating FQHCs respond to the rapidly changing dental landscape by developing strategies and adapting care pathways to deliver safe, effective, and financially sustainable oral health care. As part of this effort, C3 also received $200,000 in funding from the DentaQuest Partnership to support the recovery of oral health programs in participating FQHCs and add teledentistry to its telehealth offerings.  

“The increased adoption of teledentistry among FQHCs in Massachusetts will help expand access to needed oral health care now and in the future,” said Christina Severin, CEO of C3. “Today, teledentistry is enabling us to triage care and keep people away from overburdened emergency rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tomorrow, teledentistry will help increase access to care and drive new revenue models for safety-net dental programs that are transitioning away from fee-for-service models and moving toward integrated, value-based care.” 

Participating FQHCs will exchange key learnings and uncover best practices on how to reopen dental care sites through a monthly virtual learning collaborative. Participants will also have access to expert clinical faculty for individualized technical assistance on topics like infection control, teledentistry and value-based oral health care.   

“Our goal is to rapidly develop and test best practices that can be shared beyond Massachusetts to support the broader oral health community effectively transition to our new normal,” said Dr. Sean Boynes, vice president of healthcare improvement for the DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement.  

Interested FQHCs in Massachusetts that are not currently part of C3 can contact Daniel Joo at djoo@c3aco.org to learn more about participating in this learning community.  

About

Community Care Cooperative (C3) is a 501(c)(3) Accountable Care Organization (ACO) that leverages the proven best practices of ACOs throughout the country and is the only ACO in Massachusetts founded and governed by Federally Qualified Health Centers and exclusively focused on advancing integrated and coordinated community-based care for MassHealth members. C3 works to strengthen health centers across the state, and continued growth enables C3 to better serve MassHealth members across the Commonwealth. To view a list of C3 health centers, click here.

The DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement is a nonprofit organization working to transform the broken health care system and enable better health through oral health. Through strategic grantmaking, research and care improvement initiatives, we drive meaningful change at the local, state and national levels. The DentaQuest Partnership is affiliated with DentaQuest, a leading U.S. oral health enterprise with a mission to improve the oral health of all. Find out more at www.dentaquestpartnership.org.