Missouri Coalition for Oral Health wants to hear about your dental care experience.
The organization, a nonprofit targeted toward improving Missourians' oral health through public policy and awareness, is seeking 15 volunteers for a discussion about dental care accessibility. The discussion will take place 4:30-5:30 p.m. Monday at Fulton Head Start - 1600 Westminster Ave. in Fulton - and participants must sign up in advance at [email protected] or 573-638-3816.
"We're a state-wide organization," MCOH executive director Gary Harbison said. "This is the first focus group we've had in Callaway County. As an org, we think it's very important to hear directly from people who are struggling with access to oral health care."
To sweeten the deal, participants will receive a $40 Walmart gift card after the discussion concludes.
Community members of all kinds, including caregivers of infants and children, are welcome to come share their experience in accessing dental care. The smaller group size is meant to encourage open discussion, Harbison said.
Information from the discussion will be part of a report on dental care access in Missouri, but names and personal information will not be included. Names, personal information and exact responses will not be disclosed without written permission.
"We want to learn a number of things from the focus group," Harbison said. "From that information, we'll generate a report to bring back to the coalition. This will influence our work in the future."
He said the discussion leader will ask questions about issues people have had in accessing dental health care for themselves or their children, how they feel about oral care in general and what solutions they have to suggest.
Only one adult participant per family may participate in the discussion, but children are welcome. Coloring books and crayons will be provided, as will snacks.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, four out of 10 Missourians don't visit a dentist in a given year. Only 56 percent of Missouri children received preventative dental care in 2004, 2 percent below the national average.
Missouri Coalition for Oral Health stumps for a number of policy goals, including expansion of public water system fluoridation, along with comprehensive dental benefits in Medicare and adding oral health care to school-based health programs.
Harbison said the coalition works with many partner organizations to achieve its goals.
"The biggest thing we've done to date was working with partners to reinstate adult dental health care benefits with Medicaid, in 2016," he said.
This change allowed tens of thousands of Missourians on Medicaid to access preventative dental care, he said. In the years since, the amount of money spent on emergency dental care has begun decreasing in Missouri.
For more information about the organization, visit oralhealthmissouri.org.