IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LIBERTY, one of the largest and most experienced national dental insurers in government sponsored programs, is announcing their premier Value-Based Dental Program exclusively designed to prevent dental disease, promote wellness, and reward providers based on patient health outcomes. The LIBERTY Value-Based Dental Program utilizes the CAMBRA® protocol (Caries Management By Risk Assessment), an evidence-based approach to preventing and managing cavities at the earliest stages developed at University of California, San Francisco.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Dr. John Featherstone, the key researcher at the University of California at San Francisco, who spearheaded the development of the CAMBRA method,” said Amir Neshat, DDS, founder and CEO of LIBERTY Dental Plan. CAMBRA is a significant departure from the reactive and dominant “drill and fill” dentistry. CAMBRA allows for creation of a new paradigm of dental practice moving from restorative focused treatment to a risk-based assessment that leads to the treatment of the underlying bacteria that cause cavities, biochemical repair of the early stages of tooth decay and prevention of future decay. LIBERTY is dedicated to improving our members’ health and empowering our partnering providers to thrive in value-based care arrangements.”
Dr. Featherstone stated “It is very exciting to have LIBERTY launch this program. It will change the way that the management of dental decay is done across the nation. The program is a bold paradigm shift that will markedly improve the oral health of the participants.”
This ground-breaking Value-Based Dental program rewards participating providers with incentive payments for:
- Changing practice patterns from restorative to preventive;
- Practicing preventive dentistry that leads to healthy outcomes;
- Encouraging patients to establish a dental home;
- Engaging patients to take an active role in their own care to help ensure their oral health.
“As consumers take more control of their health, existing models are bound to change,” said Dr. Neshat. “The dental industry continues to become increasingly consumerized as consumers demand increased transparency and the tools that will help them prevent oral disease and sustain wellness. We are on the verge of a digital revolution across the entire healthcare spectrum. Big data analytics and Artificial Intelligence, combined with a variety of digital communication platforms, will increase consumer engagement and deliver objective diagnosis along with evidence-based individualized treatment. In the past, most followed doctors’ orders without question, but now, patients have become curious and knowledgeable consumers. We are also very excited to deploy intelligent, empathic technology solutions designed to drive patient engagement, experience, and compliance.”
As part of the Program roll-out, LIBERTY will begin by coordinating education and training to approximately 100,000 plan members along with over 100 general and pediatric dental providers during the 3rd quarter of 2019 in the states of California, Nevada, Florida and New York. Additional selections and implementations will continue over the course of the next 12 months.
We expect that in due course, this innovative and ambitious program will result in markedly lower levels of dental decay in children and adults who participate in the program. Dental wellness will be accentuated with cavities being prevented at early stages of development before fillings are required, coupled with conservative restorative dentistry and therapy to stop the progression of disease in the event that cavities occur.
About LIBERTY Dental Plan
LIBERTY Dental Plan® (“LIBERTY”) is a national full-service dental benefits administrator providing services to over 4.5 million recipients in public and commercial programs in fifty states, including approximately 3 million Medicaid participants. LIBERTY, founded in 2001 by Amir Neshat, DDS, is privately held and presents an executive team with almost 300 hundred years of dental, health, and managed care industry experience combined. LIBERTY, through its passion for oral healthcare, is committed to improving the overall well-being of the communities we serve.
