How community and preventative dentistry can reduce cost and improve patients’ health via technology-driven cooperation between dental practices and hospitals

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss ways in which dentistry can be efficiently integrated with the general health care system to improve quality of care and save costs. Design/Methodology/Approach: The authors evaluated a possibility of improving patients’ outcomes and reducing costs via employing cell a phone technology-based approach to integration between dental care and the hospital-based health care system. Findings: Despite the huge implications of oral health on general health, the field of dentistry has remained somewhat isolated from the larger health care network. For the past thirty-five years, health care spending in the U.S. has skyrocketed to costs nearing 3.2 trillion dollars. However, the access and outcomes of care lag far behind those of other developed nations despite this spike. Finding an efficient way to connect dental care and general care would greatly aid in alleviating the fiscal and structural challenges faced by the US health care system by uniting two of the most important aspects of health. Originality/Value: The authors find that involvement of dental “physicians” in providing community-based health care with robust ties to hospitals has potential to substantially reduce costs for the treatment of a number of chronic conditions.