WE'RE USHERING IN THE FUTURE OF DENTISTRY
Access Teledentistry was formed in 2019, by Nathan Suter and Tiffany Grant, it is a consulting firm that provides teledentistry solutions through a variety of services to a diverse group of clients. We’re an organization that was founded in the belief of recognizing, respecting and valuing the role and expertise of others, facilitating collaboration by actively sharing relevant information and the importance of oral health advocacy to help change systems for the betterment of all.
Prior to the launch of Access Teledentistry, Dr. Nathan Suter was the Oral Health Director and a practicing dentist at COMTREA Comprehensive Health Center, a federally-qualified health center (FQHC), in Festus, from 2013 to 2018. In 2015, Dr. Suter was instrumental in two pieces of legislative advocacy efforts in the State of Missouri. He presented the concept of teledentistry to the Missouri Dental Board. He gathered the dental organizations to push the Missouri legislature to enact a statute that helped increase telehealth access by increasing eligible healthcare providers and settings, this action allowed for teledentistry (HB 1617 revision of telehealth). Also, he pushed for reinstatement of adult dental Medicaid that would benefit over 300,000 eligible people. This led to adults on Missouri Medicaid to have limited dental benefits that include preventive, emergency, and some restorative treatment. In 2017, he helped design the Missouri Dental Board rule revision that changed the patient of record definition to allow for full scope of teledentistry services.
During that advocacy period, Dr. Suter created Comtrea’s Oral Health Primary Care Integration Program which provided on-site preventive oral health services which were integrated into a primary care site. Dr. Suter hired Tiffany Grant, RDH to help implement an innovative integration of oral health service into primary and behavioral health appointments. This project grew into Comtrea’s Teledentistry Outreach, a grant funded initiative; is a competency-based practice model, that strives to expand access to oral healthcare in populations with little to no access to dental care. During this pilot, Tiffany helped create the four phase approach to gather clinical information and take intraoral and extra-oral images of patients, and through the use of telecommunications, a dentist accesses that information remotely and completes exams and develops individualized treatment plans. Together, they incorporated key principles of the care coordination principles in order to increase awareness of the importance of oral health through community outreach; help patients navigate the healthcare system, link at-risk patients to dentists; and address barriers to care.
Dr. Suter is now the Oral Health Program Specialist at COMTREA overseeing the teledentistry program, grant writing, strategic planning and business analytics. Since 2013, Dr. Suter has written multiple grants for Comtrea resulting in awards exceeding $2.5 million. This funding encompassed grants from private institutions and both federal and state agencies. In 2017, Dr. Suter purchased a rural private practice in House Springs, Missouri. He now splits his time between consulting and his private practice, Green Leaf Dental Care. In 2019, Access Teledentistry was awarded a contract with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to provide program evaluation, training, and technical assistance for both HRSA and CDC grants focused on teledentistry.
Tiffany had a 16-year dental career as an assistant, hygienist and dental educator, she served in the United States Air Force and worked as a dental educator and community oral health director where she successfully created and implemented several prevention based initiatives and programs. After her enlistment, she worked for COMTREA in Jefferson County Missouri, with Dr. Suter under the Oral Health and Primary Care Integration Initiative and the Teledentistry Outreach Pilot were she was integral in helping developing and implementing this innovative emerging workforce approach where the dental hygienist extends the reach of the dentist by bringing dental expertise to various settings. In that capacity, she worked to expand the dental home setting through the use of tele-dentistry methodologies and emphasizes overall wellness through improved oral health status, increased collaboration among providers, and the promotion of health education. Tiffany has a strong commitment to oral health advocacy, she has been awarded for Oral Health Champion Award through the Missouri Dental Hygienists’ Association and the Oral Health Board Chair Recognition Award through the Missouri Coalition of Oral Health for her support of oral health issues in the state of Missouri. Currently, she serves as the President Elect, Delegate with the Missouri Dental Hygienists’ Association and the Leadership Development Committee for the American Dental Hygienists’ Association.
Prior to the launch of Access Teledentistry, Dr. Nathan Suter was the Oral Health Director and a practicing dentist at COMTREA Comprehensive Health Center, a federally-qualified health center (FQHC), in Festus, from 2013 to 2018. In 2015, Dr. Suter was instrumental in two pieces of legislative advocacy efforts in the State of Missouri. He presented the concept of teledentistry to the Missouri Dental Board. He gathered the dental organizations to push the Missouri legislature to enact a statute that helped increase telehealth access by increasing eligible healthcare providers and settings, this action allowed for teledentistry (HB 1617 revision of telehealth). Also, he pushed for reinstatement of adult dental Medicaid that would benefit over 300,000 eligible people. This led to adults on Missouri Medicaid to have limited dental benefits that include preventive, emergency, and some restorative treatment. In 2017, he helped design the Missouri Dental Board rule revision that changed the patient of record definition to allow for full scope of teledentistry services.
During that advocacy period, Dr. Suter created Comtrea’s Oral Health Primary Care Integration Program which provided on-site preventive oral health services which were integrated into a primary care site. Dr. Suter hired Tiffany Grant, RDH to help implement an innovative integration of oral health service into primary and behavioral health appointments. This project grew into Comtrea’s Teledentistry Outreach, a grant funded initiative; is a competency-based practice model, that strives to expand access to oral healthcare in populations with little to no access to dental care. During this pilot, Tiffany helped create the four phase approach to gather clinical information and take intraoral and extra-oral images of patients, and through the use of telecommunications, a dentist accesses that information remotely and completes exams and develops individualized treatment plans. Together, they incorporated key principles of the care coordination principles in order to increase awareness of the importance of oral health through community outreach; help patients navigate the healthcare system, link at-risk patients to dentists; and address barriers to care.
Dr. Suter is now the Oral Health Program Specialist at COMTREA overseeing the teledentistry program, grant writing, strategic planning and business analytics. Since 2013, Dr. Suter has written multiple grants for Comtrea resulting in awards exceeding $2.5 million. This funding encompassed grants from private institutions and both federal and state agencies. In 2017, Dr. Suter purchased a rural private practice in House Springs, Missouri. He now splits his time between consulting and his private practice, Green Leaf Dental Care. In 2019, Access Teledentistry was awarded a contract with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to provide program evaluation, training, and technical assistance for both HRSA and CDC grants focused on teledentistry.
Tiffany had a 16-year dental career as an assistant, hygienist and dental educator, she served in the United States Air Force and worked as a dental educator and community oral health director where she successfully created and implemented several prevention based initiatives and programs. After her enlistment, she worked for COMTREA in Jefferson County Missouri, with Dr. Suter under the Oral Health and Primary Care Integration Initiative and the Teledentistry Outreach Pilot were she was integral in helping developing and implementing this innovative emerging workforce approach where the dental hygienist extends the reach of the dentist by bringing dental expertise to various settings. In that capacity, she worked to expand the dental home setting through the use of tele-dentistry methodologies and emphasizes overall wellness through improved oral health status, increased collaboration among providers, and the promotion of health education. Tiffany has a strong commitment to oral health advocacy, she has been awarded for Oral Health Champion Award through the Missouri Dental Hygienists’ Association and the Oral Health Board Chair Recognition Award through the Missouri Coalition of Oral Health for her support of oral health issues in the state of Missouri. Currently, she serves as the President Elect, Delegate with the Missouri Dental Hygienists’ Association and the Leadership Development Committee for the American Dental Hygienists’ Association.