Barriers to Oral Health Care & Consequences for Hoosiers

This assessment combines primary qualitative data from interviews with primary quantitative data from the 2026 Community Needs Assessments and secondary quantitative data in a comprehensive portrait that analyzes the experiences of Hoosiers trying to access oral health care and the barriers they must navigate. Core findings highlight the critical importance of oral health to overall health and well-being, with documented knock-on effects in personal and financial lives due to difficulties accessing necessary oral health care. As a core takeaway, this report highlights the need for further funding to ensure oral health care access across Indiana. Read more to hear how, in their own words, Hoosiers characterize the challenges of accessing oral health care and the impacts that such challenges have had on their lives.

September 2026 | Report PDF

Lead Authors: Lauren Murfree, Policy Analyst, and Zia Saylor, Researcher and Communications Coordinator | Contact Authors

This research report was made possible through a partnership with CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.

 Cover showing the report title, Barriers to Oral Health Care & Consequences for Hoosiers

 

Related Resources & Projects

Medical Debt Know Your Rights: These Know Your Rights materials, created in 2025, share resources regarding coping with medical debt, understanding medical billing practices, and learning in an informational capacity about legal rights with respect to medical debt in Indiana.

Addressing Barriers to Dental Healthcare at Area Five Agency Head Start: This blog post by Stormy Fiscel (RN, BSN, Health & Nutrition Manager at Area Five Agency Head Start) explores the ways in which community programs such as Head Start can address oral health inequalities in a community-grounded way, offering forward advice, areas of success, and assessment of continued challenges.

"Constant, Overwhelming,": Barriers to Oral Health in Indiana: Oral health has long been a topic of concern amongst low-income Hoosiers. This blog incorporates quotes from our earlier research project involving new mothers and medical debt to understand experiences of oral health inaccessibility and highlight the need for further attention to systems of oral health care in the state of Indiana.