Mayo Clinic Health System Medical-Dental Integration Project (Mayo Clinic Medical-Dental Integration Project): A 2021 DTA Foundation Grant Project

The DTA Foundation continued its usual funding of oral health pilot projects in 2021 after its 2020 pivot to COVID related projects. Apple Tree Dental was one of five grant recipients from last year’s funding cycle. See below pieces of their 2021 DTA Foundation grant application for more details on their project: Mayo Clinic Health System Medical-Dental Integration Project (Mayo Clinic Medical-Dental Integration Project).

The anticipated impact of the Mayo Clinic Medical-Dental Integration Project will be to improve the quality and coordination of health care and the continuity of patient care among health care providers. It will improve population health, reduce health disparities, and reduce the impact of untreated oral diseases on overall health. Health outcomes will be improved through more timely and complete care coordination, medical and dental management of patients with complex medical, behavioral and dental needs, and improved oral health literacy among both medical providers and underserved patients about the importance of links between oral health and overall health.

The Mayo Clinic Medical-Dental Integration Project broadens awareness of oral health’s impact on overall health by developing a new “Rural Oral Health Center” model as defined and recommended by the Minnesota Department of Health’s Rural Health Advisory Committee. Support from the DTA Foundation will enable Apple Tree to build a strong collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, not merely co-location, but true integration. This project will showcase for other organizations how medical-dental integration can increase access to oral health care while simultaneously improving medical primary, urgent, and emergency room care.