New Advocacy Guide: Oral Health for Older Adults in California

Our partners, Justice in Aging recently published a new advocacy guide regarding oral health for older adults in California. Below is a brief overview and links to the guide. Please share!

Oral health affects overall health – this is particularly true for older adults. Yet, access to oral health treatment is limited and complicated by factors such as lack of dental coverage, complicated rules, and lack of dental providers. To assist California advocates in connecting their clients with oral health treatment, Justice in Aging has developed an Advocacy Guide for Oral Health for Older Adults in California.

The Guide includes a summary with advocacy tips on the following topics:

• Why oral health matters
• The state of oral health for older adults in California today
• Health insurance coverage options for older adults including Medicare, Denti-Cal, and other forms of coverage
• Unique barriers sub-populations of older adults encounter in accessing oral health including dual eligibles and nursing facility residents
• Treatment alternatives for individuals without dental coverage
• Additional resources

It is our intention that this Guide will help advocates navigate the system and empower them to identify and address systemic barriers to care.

Visit Justice in Aging’s Oral Health page for additional resources and help us celebrate #OralHealthMonth by forwarding this resource to your networks.