If there was one change you could make to improve oral health access over the next 2-3 years, what would it be? That’s the question we asked during our Building Better Care event, which convened leaders around the future of oral health, women’s health, and access, and highlighted ACCELERATE, our program designed to scale in-market innovation.

The discussion made one thing clear: improving oral health outcomes will require coordinated investment, better integration with medical care, and scalable innovation.

Barriers to Oral Health Care in the U.S.

Despite growing attention, access to oral health care remains a significant challenge. Today, nearly 67% of Americans live in dental health professional shortage areas. Where coverage exists, access remains uneven: Medicaid guarantees dental benefits for children, but adult coverage varies by state, creating persistent barriers for many.

“From where I sit, the biggest barriers are pretty basic but very real,” said Dr. Donna Bridge, a dentist on the board of directors at the National Network for Oral Health Access. “People need coverage they can count on, a provider they can actually get in to see, and a system that works in the context of real life.”

Addressing these gaps requires action across the ecosystem, and payers are already demonstrating what’s possible. With access to claims and eligibility data, they can uniquely identify and address gaps in care. Aetna Better Health of Illinois, for example, is addressing maternal oral health access with the More for Moms initiative, which provides proactive education and offers digital oral health screenings for pregnant women.

The Maternal-Oral Health Connection: Patient Education and Awareness

Maternal health represents one of the most urgent and overlooked opportunities for impact. Between 60-75% of pregnant women experience gingivitis, yet just 45.9% receive a dental cleaning during pregnancy. This can result in periodontal disease, which is associated with increased risks of preterm births, low birth weight, and even preeclampsia.

In 2025, HCSC integrated dental care into its Maternal and Infant Health initiative, distributing oral health educational kits developed by SMILE Health alum Firstgrin at federally qualified health centers serving large obstetric patient populations. Cigna Health is also leading in maternal oral health integration with its Healthy Pregnancies, Healthy Babies program, which also distributes oral health kits in partnership with Firstgrin. These examples highlight the growing momentum behind medical-dental integration, but scaling impact will require continued action. While investment in oral health startups has grown in recent years, the sector still needs stronger proof points to sustain momentum. By fostering partnerships between startups and established industry leaders, CareQuest helps bridge that gap.

Scaling Innovative Health Solutions with ACCELERATE

So how did industry leaders answer the question around one change to improve oral health access over the next 2-3 years? Answers included:

1. Establish private-public partnerships through DSOs, leveraging their network and cost structure to support access to care
2. Stronger investment in health centers and safety net dental programs
3. Continued evolution of non-traditional care delivery models
4. Investment in data and interoperability – if we don’t have access to the right information, we can’t act on it

If you have your own solution to add to the list and are ready to move it forward, we want to work with you. Our ACCELERATE program advances established, in-market innovation through real-world initiatives with startups and industry leaders, providing up to $100,000 in nondilutive funds, advisory expertise, and analytics support to drive measurable health outcomes, demonstrate business value, and position companies for sustainable growth and market expansion. Applications for ACCELERATE projects must include both a startup and industry partner committed to meaningfully implementing a 6- to 12-month initiative.

For the first time, ACCELERATE is open to any startup with mission alignment and proven market traction. Learn more and apply.