Making a bigger impact by working together

Made up of organizations from health care, public health, social services, and community groups, Smile Spokane works together to transform the oral health system in our region so everyone can enjoy better oral and overall health and well-being.

Using a health equity lens, the work is organized around the following strategies:

Community Care Coordination

Connects people with diabetes, seniors, and pregnant patients to dentists who take Apple Health.

Leads: Spokane Regional Health District and Aging and Long Term Care of Eastern Washington

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Aging and Long Term Care & EWU Student Partnership to Support Senior Oral Health: The Importance of Fluoride for Seniors

Aging and Long Term Care & EWU Student Partnership to Support Senior Oral Health: Denture Care

Aging and Long Term Care & EWU Student Partnership to Support Senior Oral Health: Dental Pain and Oral Infections in the Aging Population

Aging and Long Term Care & EWU Student Partnership to Support Senior Oral Health: Nutrition For The Elderly

Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD) Pediatric Champion

Dr. Jared Evans of KiDDS Dental has been the pediatric champion for the ABCD/E program in the Spokane region since 2009. A critical part of this role is to provide the Oral Health for Infants and Toddlers provider training required for ABCD certification. Learn More >>

Spokane Dental Society

DentistLink

DentistLink is a free referral service for anyone in Washington. They are a free non-profit referral service on a mission to connect everyone to dental care, whether uninsured or insured, including those with Apple Health (Medicaid) coverage. Learn more at DentistLink.org.

Your Prescription For a Healthy Mouth

Access to Baby & Child Dentistry (ABCD) Program

Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) program staff helps eligible kids access ABCD-certified dentists by providing case management and technical assistance.

Medical-Dental Integration

Promotes whole-person care with the goal of integrating oral health preventative care into 100 percent of primary care medical settings. Arcora Foundation and Spokane Regional Health District provide training, tools, and technical assistance to medical teams.

Lead: The Arcora Foundation

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Medical Dental Integration in Pediatric Primary Care

Smile Spokane and Arcora, through the Local Impact Network, currently work with the three largest systems in Spokane to integrate pediatric preventive oral health services into the pediatric primary care workflow. Find out more in this update.

Oral Health Is Important for Overall Health

In honor of National Health Center Week, we celebrate our partner CHAS Health. In this month’s blog, Dr. Marcus Baca, a primary care pediatrician and director of pediatric health at CHAS Health, explains why oral health is so important to overall health. Through Smile Spokane’s Medical-Dental Integration Strategy, Arcora Foundation provides training, tools, and technical assistance to medical teams at CHAS Health, Providence, and MultiCare with the goal to help integrate oral health screenings into well-child care visits. Oral disease, an almost entirely preventable condition, is largely ignored by the current health system until the teeth or gums deteriorate to the point that they require aggressive, expensive, and painful interventions. Our Medical-Dental Integration Strategy is working to change that.

Smiles for Life

Smiles for Life is currently the nation's most comprehensive and widely used oral health curriculum for primary care clinicians. It has been endorsed by 20 national organizations and is in wide use in professional schools and post-graduate training programs. Visit the Smiles for Life website to view their Continuing Education courses and resources.

Free Oral Health Training Opportunities

As part of Arcora Foundation’s mission to expand the arc of oral health they provide learning opportunities for different types of professionals. To learn more, view this flyer with Arcora’s free education offerings and explore the course descriptions.

Access to Dental Services through transportation

Focused on addressing transportation barriers to dental care.

Lead: SNAP

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Spokane Area Dental Resources in Marshallese

Spokane area dental resources, support, and oral health information are available to Marshallese-speaking community members. Download Spokane Dental Resource flyers in Marshallese.

DentistLink Connects Patients to Oral Health Care

People who earn less than $17,775 a year are eligible to enroll in Apple Health (Medicaid) insurance, which covers dental care. Unfortunately, that doesn't always mean they are able to access dental care they need. In fact, in Spokane in 2020, only 24% of adults with Apple Health saw a dentist. Smile Spokane’s Access Strategy seeks to close that gap and help more people get the care they need.

Building Oral Health Equity in Spokane

Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) program staff helps eligible kids access ABCD-certified dentists by providing case management and technical assistance. If a child has Apple Health (Medicaid), they are eligible to receive services through the ABCD program.

School-based Sealant Program

Provides children in elementary schools sealants, oral health education, and connects them to a dental home.

Lead: Communities in Schools

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Helping Children Access Oral Health Care in Schools

We want to celebrate our Sealants Strategy in honor of National Children’s Dental Health Month! Tooth pain and cavities can make kids more likely to miss school and more likely to earn below-average grades. Luckily, Communities in Schools Spokane County and ToothSavers of Washington have partnered with Smile Spokane to provide sealants to kids in elementary schools. When we prevent cavities, kids stay in school, focused on achieving good grades, which supports their long-term success in life.

Toothsavers Sealants Program: School-based Sealants

Sign your primary and middle-school children up for the Toothsavers Sealants program to receive sealant dental care while they are in school. Toothsavers is a mobile team of experienced, caring dental hygienists who provide dental care in school settings during school hours across Spokane County.

Care Linkages for Individuals with a Behavioral Health Diagnosis

Connects individuals living with mental illness to dentists.

Lead: Frontier Behavioral Health

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Mental Health Challenges Don’t Have to Stop Oral Health Care

We’re shining a light on Smile Spokane’s Care Linkages Strategy and our impactful partnership with Frontier Behavioral Health (FBH). Overall health means oral health, physical health, and emotional and mental health. The care navigators at FBH help connect people living with mental challenges and illness to all kinds of support and care, including oral health care.

Information for Providers Interested in Accepting Apple Health

Now is a great time to accept Apple Health dental insurance! Apple Health (Medicaid) dental insurance reimbursement rates for adults have increased beginning July 1, 2021. The WA Health Care Authority (HCA) increased reimbursement rates by 100% for most adult dental services covered by Apple Health for fee-for-service providers. View this informational flyer from Dentist Link to learn more.

Community Education

DH and Better Health Together raise awareness about the significant oral health challenges Spokane faces, educating the community about the benefits of community water fluoridation.

Lead: DH

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Smiles for Life

Protect Washington’s Medicaid Adult Benefit

Cutting the adult dental benefits will further hurt the communities most impacted by COVID-19, and will cost WA state millions. Good oral health is an essential component of Washington’s economic recovery. To learn more, view this flyer listing the benefits of protecting WA Apple Health’s adult dental benefits.

Free Oral Health Training Opportunities

Your Prescription For a Healthy Mouth