Integration of mouth health and basic care is an important goal that can help patients do better overall. A DentaQuest poll from 2020 shows that it is also getting more attention and support.

Federally Qualified Health Centers are coming up with and using new ways to combine dental care with medical, mental, and public health services. This book is all about these types.

As healthcare groups try to cut costs, improve quality and patient involvement, and deal with chronic diseases, they are looking for new ways to help them reach these goals. One of the most well-known models is the patient-centered medical home (PCMH).

PCMHs are models of health care that encourage basic care that is easy to get to, all-inclusive, and well-coordinated, and that is led by a qualified provider that the patient picks. These providers and their teams take care of their patients by building connections, putting an emphasis on prevention and general health, and meeting each patient's individual needs.

Timothy Martinez DMD pointed out that when a national licensing group recognizes a practice, it means that the practice has shown its commitment to patient-centered care. These practices have made connections with other services and resources in the community and work closely with people to make sure that their health care fits with their living goals. Premier Family Health & Wellness, near West Palm Beach, Florida, is one such place. The husband and wife doctors built a place where patients can get almost all of their medical, dental, and health needs met in one place.

Many towns have problems that make it hard to work together in the long term. For example, working with people from different countries, classes, or socioeconomic groups can lead to distrust and disagreements about the roles of each partner in a relationship.

Even though there has been growth toward combined service delivery, there are still gaps. Many Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are integrating oral health and primary care services through co-location, but real integration needs upstream measures that boost interprofessional education and cross-training as well as financial alignment.

A virtual Learning Collaborative is one way to help with this kind of change. The collaborative approach brings together teams that want to improve their work with experts from a wide range of fields. They try and put into place new ways of doing things and keep track of how the quality of their work has improved. The TISH project used this model and found that investing in relationships, getting leaders from both the oral health and primary care programs, and meeting regularly made it easier for people to work together.