Dental Champions - Oral Health Kansas

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Dental Champions - Oral Health Kansas

Dental Champions is a leadership program developed by Oral Health Kansas.

The program offers participants leadership and personal development training as well as other training focused on planning and organizational skills and up-to-date information about the oral health scene in Kansas and the nation.

01/12/2026

As we begin the new year, please join us as we welcome our slate of officers for the upcoming term:

President: Melanie Simmer-Beck, PhD, RDH
Past President: Tami Allen
Vice President: Linda J. Sheppard, JD
Treasurer: Charles (Chuck) Abbick, DDS
Secretary: Debra Meisenheimer

We’re looking forward to their guidance moving forward! You can see the list of our board members on our website.
https://www.oralhealthkansas.org/Board.html

01/11/2026

January is Mental Health Wellness Month. Mental health and oral health are deeply connected. Stress, anxiety, and depression can directly impact oral health outcomes. Mental health challenges may lead to skipped dental visits, poor oral hygiene, increased to***co or substance use, and unhealthy eating habits. Not maintaining one’s oral health can also lead to low self esteem and avoiding socializing or applying for jobs. Chronic stress is also linked to conditions such as teeth grinding (bruxism), jaw pain, gum disease, and can weaken the immune response. Medications may also cause dry mouth, making your mouth feel uncomfortable. Have sugar free gum or sugar free hard candy available to mitigate dry mouth.

Addressing oral health needs is an essential part of supporting mental wellness, particularly for individuals facing economic, social, or mental health challenges. Seeking regular dental care as well as mental health care services are important ways to help improve oral health and mental health. For oral health Tips and Tricks, visit our website. You can find information on medications and oral health, to***co and va**ng as well as dry mouth.
https://www.oralhealthkansas.org/Consumers.html

01/10/2026

Delta Dental of Kansas premiered a new dental benefit for people with disabilities this month. It includes coverage for practice visits, additional cleanings throughout the year, anesthesia when necessary, and dental case management. The new benefit is available for for people with physical, developmental, mental, sensory, behavioral, cognitive, or emotional disabilities.

Find out more information here.
https://www.oralhealthkansas.org/WWU/2026/1-7-2026/Special%20Health%20Care%20Needs_DDKS_2026_Dentist.pdf

Dental care is the number one unmet healthcare need for people with disabilities, and this new coverage option in Kansas is a way for people with disabilities to access the care they need with the supports that make it easier. We are happy to see this enhanced coverage now available for Kansans with disabilities.

Dental providers who would like to learn more about providing care for people with disabilities, including the importance of practice visits, sensory accommodations, and case management can watch the recordings of “Accessible Oral Health 2025 ECHO: Building Confidence in Dental Teams to Serve People with Disabilities.” This series was sponsored by Oral Health Kansas and funded by a grant from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment – Division of Health Care Finance (KDHE-DHCF) through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and underwriting from Delta Dental of Kansas. All five of the ECHO sessions are available free on-demand. Click here to access them.
https://www.kumc.edu/institute-for-community-engagement/our-divisions/project-echo/echo-on-demand.html

01/09/2026

If you have used the My Dental Care Passport, that’s great! It’s a powerful tool to help make a dental visit run smoothly. If you’re just getting started, we want to make things easy for you. We have explained step by step how both dental offices and consumers can use the My Dental Care Passport. You can also download a helpful user guide with tips! Find out more information on the Pathways to Oral Health website. https://pathwaystooralhealth.org/how-to-use-my-dental-care-passport/

Should you have any questions or need help with the My Dental Care Passport, you can email us at [email protected].

01/08/2026

The State of Kansas was recently featured in a national publication by Care Quest Institute for Oral Health, in an article titled “Strengthening State Medicaid Adult Dental Benefits: Five Success Stories.” The article highlights Oral Health Kansas’ strategic persistence and continued efforts to strengthen Medicaid adult dental benefits, even in the face of challenges. This national recognition reinforces the importance of sustained advocacy, collaboration, and long-term commitment to improving oral health access across our state and our work to fully strengthen Medicaid adult dental benefits.

https://carequest.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/CareQuest_Institute_Kansas-Case-Study_12.2.25_FINAL.pdf

01/07/2026

The legislative session begins next week on January 13. We’re preparing and need your help! We are still recruiting organizations to join our advocacy for finishing the job on the Medicaid dental rate increase. If your organization has not signed on yet, you can do so at the link below. If you know of other local and state organizations that would like to join the advocacy, please share the link with them. Joining the advocacy coalition means your organization will be listed on our website as a supporter of the rate increase. You will also receive frequent updates on the advocacy efforts as well as advocacy alerts that give you the opportunity to contact legislators or provide testimony.

Here is the link to sign up.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0BfTSdMc46tcFEf7cgUUJhnRD-yBX6uTjXRzRLUfdePxcFQ/viewform?usp=header

If you have any questions, you can reach us at [email protected]

12/31/2025

We want to make a New Year's resolution for 2026. Our goal is to continue to work towards a healthier Kansas! Oral Health Kansas accomplished many goals in 2025 but the work isn't done.

Here's a look back at 2025:

• The legislature approved $10 million for another dental rate increase!
• The Pathways to Oral Health project team was fully staffed, and a new website was launched.
• The new and improved My Dental Care Passport went live!
• We created new video ads about the importance of dental providers accepting Medicaid and providing care for people with disabilities
• We kicked off a five week webinar series, “New Era, New Opportunities: Making Medicaid Work for You”.
• We held our annual Conference on Oral Health with over 122 participants.

Now we’ll begin working on our New Year’s Resolutions. What are yours?

We'll see you in the new year!

The Oral Health Kansas office will be closed on Thursday, January 1.

12/23/2025

Happy Holidays! The Oral Health Kansas office will be closed Wednesday, December 24 - Friday, December 26.

Check out our staff Christmas childhood memories!
https://conta.cc/3YzLUZQ

12/22/2025

As we end the year, we look back to see all the accomplishments that the Pathways to Oral Health Project has seen! It’s been a busy year, but an impactful one. We couldn’t have done all of this without the help of our Pathways partners and most certainly our funder, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Division of Health Care Finance and ARPA.

We’ll continue the work in 2026 through the summer. We are still seeking funding to continue the work through 2026 and beyond. Any suggestions for funders of this important multi-partner initiative would be helpful.

12/21/2025

The Kansas Mission of Mercy (KMOM) will be held on January 30 and 31, 2026 in Manhattan at the Kansas National Guard Armory. If you’re interested in volunteering, registration is now open! There are different areas that you can be helpful with. You don’t have to volunteer both days or all day, just an hour or two would help! Hand out food, walk with patients or if you speak Spanish, you can help interpret!

Oral Health Kansas staff assists with exit surveys after patients are done with their services. If you’re interested in helping with exit surveys, let us know and we’ll guide you in registering to volunteer. Check out the volunteer registration information here.
https://www.ksdentalfoundation.org/volunteer-information/

12/20/2025

December is HIV/AIDS Awareness Month. People with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), are at special risk for oral health problems. Some of the most common oral health problems for people with HIV/AIDS are chronic dry mouth, gum disease (gingivitis), bone loss around the teeth (periodontitis), canker sores, oral warts, fever blisters, thrush (oral candidiasis), hairy leukoplakia (which causes a rough, white patch on the tongue), and tooth decay.
Oral health conditions can be painful, annoying, and can lead to other health problems. Combination antiretroviral therapy, which is used to treat HIV and restore immune system function, has made some oral health problems less common.
To help with a dry mouth, try these things:
• Sip water or sugarless drinks often.
• Chew sugarless gum or suck on sugarless hard candy.
• Avoid to***co.
• Avoid alcohol.
• Avoid salty foods.
• Use a humidifier at night.

Find more information on the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research website.https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/health-info/hiv-aids -tips

On January 28, 2026 from 11:00am CST to 12:00pm CST, participate in a webinar, Beyond the Chair: How Dental Providers Can Support Efforts to End the HIV Epidemic, and learn from a qualitative study with dentists and dental hygienists, highlighting their perspectives on HIV knowledge, communication, and coordination. This session will focus on practical strategies that providers can use in everyday practice. Register here.
https://www.neaetc.org/events/view/29984

12/19/2025

Last week, OHK’s Executive Director, Tanya Dorf Brunner, finished the class she started on September 1. It’s part of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Executive Education program and is called “Public Narrative: Leadership, Storytelling, and Action.” The course included 140 people from 50 countries and was led by Marshall Ganz who got his start in the Civil Rights Movement in 1964. The course has been a remarkable journey, but Tanya will have more time in her schedule now! This was her third Kennedy School course, so by the end of the month she will have earned a Nonprofit Leadership Executive Certificate from Harvard. Congratulations, Tanya!

Address

PO Box 4567
Topeka, KS
66604

Telephone

+17852356069

Website

http://ksdentalchampions.org/

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