Implications for Improving Oral Health Care among Female Prisoners in Georgia's Correctional System

Georgia has the eighth highest state rate of incarceration and fourth highest number of prisoners in the country. Aside from a receiving a dental examination at intake to assess oral health needs, there are no efforts to determine the barriers and determinants that contribute to the presenting oral health status of Georgia’s state prisoners.  Also, there is no pre-release planning to establish a health care home for prisoners being released back into the community to continue oral health care services in an effort to support successful reentry. This study assessed the barriers which impact n=98 female inmates’ access to oral health care, prior to incarceration within Georgia’s prison system using a 21-item survey developed by Community Voices: Healthcare for the Underserved and administered by Georgia Department of Corrections staff.  Majority of the survey respondents reported that they do not have a regular dental provider (83%), lack insurance coverage (66%), and had their last dental visit more than a year ago because they did not have money for service or treatment (64%). The data collected from this study will be utilized to inform future project efforts to both reduce costs and increase access to oral health care for Georgia’s uninsured and underinsured, and especially the incarcerated and reentry populations.