DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES 
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop S2-26-12 
Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850 
 
Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services 
 
CMCS Informational Bulletin 
 
 
DATE:  June 15, 2012 
 
FROM:  Cindy Mann, Director 
    Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) 
 
SUBJECT:  CMS Oral Health Initiative: Webinars and Technical Assistance 
 
This Informational Bulletin provides information about a series of webinars technical assistance available to 
States as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Oral Health Initiative.  We will be 
working over the next several months with States interested in developing oral health action plans as a vehicle 
for working toward CMS stated goals for oral health improvement.  There is a strong commitment among 
many States to improve oral health for children.  However, much still needs to be done to ensure that children 
enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP are getting recommended services and needed care. 
 
Oral Health Goals  
 
As part of the CMS Oral Health Initiative, developed in consultation with States and announced in 2010, CMCS 
is working with States to improve two oral health indicators for children against the baseline data for 2011.  The 
first goal is to increase in each State by 10 percentage points the proportion of children enrolled in Medicaid or 
CHIP that receive a preventive dental service, as reported on Form 416 line 12b, over a 5-year period ending in 
2015.  The second goal is to increase by 10 percentage points the proportion of children ages six to nine enrolled 
in Medicaid or CHIP that receive a dental sealant on a permanent molar tooth, as reported on Form 416 line 
12d. The target date for this measure is under review and will be announced at a later date.   More information 
about the Oral Health Plan is available at Medicaid.gov: http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-
Information/By-Topics/Quality-of-Care/Downloads/CMS-Oral-Health-Strategy.pdf. 
 
To support States in improving access to dental care, CMS will provide technical assistance in two main areas: 
 
  Identifying and sharing promising practices that States have used to increase childrens access to oral 
health care, and 
  Identifying barriers to access, and working with States and stakeholders to craft solutions.  
 
Webinar Series 
 
As part of our technical assistance effort, CMCS is launching the CMS Learning Lab: Improving Oral Health 
Through Access, a series of informational seminars for State Medicaid and CHIP agencies and other interested 
partners.  The first in the series, titled Developing State Oral Health Action Plans Using State Data, will be held 
on June 19, 2012.  It will provide information on analytics on dental data leading to development of the State 
Action Plans.  The one-hour webinar will be hosted by CMCS and Dr. Lynn Douglas Mouden, CMS Chief  CMCS Informational Bulletin - Page 2 
Dental Officer and Laurie Norris, Senior Policy Advisor and Coordinator of the CMS Oral Health Initiative.  
Guest faculty will include Susan Tucker, Executive Director of the Office of Health Services, Maryland 
Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, and Martha Dellapenna, Director of the Medicaid/CHIP State Dental 
Associations Center for State Medicaid and CHIP Oral Health Program Quality, Policy and Financing. 
 
Learning objectives for the webinar are: 1) to understand the purpose of the Oral Health Action Plan; 2) to 
understand the data components of the Action Plan Template and how to complete it; and 3) to benefit from two 
State examples of how to query and analyze State data to inform decision-making on improvement strategies. 
 
Developing a State Oral Health Action Plan Using State Data 
 
Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 2:00 PM  3:00 PM (EDT) 
 
The video for the webinar may be accessed by using this link: 
 
https://webinar.cms.hhs.gov/cmsoralhealthinitiative/ 
 
The audio may be accessed through 877-267-1577, ID #4174 
 
CMS will also offer an audio-only same day office hour with the webinar faculty for questions and 
discussion, 3:00 PM 4:00 PM (EDT), at the above telephone number. 
 
Ongoing Technical Assistance 
 
Beginning in June 2012, CMCS will offer one-on-one technical assistance to help interested States in 
developing their Oral Health Action Plans.  CMCS will assist States with organizing a State partnership team to 
write the Action Plan; developing data to support the plan; and providing insight into promising practices and 
policy and administrative tools that States can consider using to reach their goals.  
 
For more information or to request technical assistance, please contact Dr. Lynn Douglas Mouden, CMS Chief 
Dental Officer, at lynn.mouden@cms.hhs.gov.  We hope this information is helpful and we look forward to 
continuing to partner with States on this important initiative.