As the link between oral health and overall wellness becomes more widely recognized among patients, healthcare leaders are looking for more ways to integrate care to enhance patient outcomes.

More than 90% of adults in the U.S. agree that oral health is an important aspect of overall health, according to a new report from the Delta Dental Plans Association. Adults part of Gen Z are driving the increase, with 94% of Gen Z respondents believing that oral health is very or extremely important to their overall health, up from 89% in 2025.

Henderson, Nev.-based PDS Health, an integrated healthcare organization with more than 1,200 locations in 24 states, has been spearheading efforts to bring medical and dental care closer together, including partnering with hospitals and health systems to expand its primary care model.

Brett Bingham, president of PDS Health Medical, recently spoke with Becker’s to discuss its growing primary care model and how care coordination is enhancing the patient experience.

Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.

Question: Can you tell me about how PDS Health’s primary care model is structured and how it integrates dental and medical care?

Brett Bingham: PDS Health has built a modern primary care model alongside one of the largest DSOs in the world. The differentiator is not simply co-location. It’s really the combination of the care model, the data model, the technology and the patient experience organized around the reality that oral health and overall health are inextricably linked — what we call the Mouth-Body Connection.

Primary care is often treated as order takers and referral makers. Our model helps restore primary care as the front door to prevention, early detection, longitudinal care and affordability.

Our structure really has three core elements. First, we use PDS Health’s existing scale, infrastructure and patient relationships to expand access to medical care. Second, we integrate medical and dental through shared workflows, shared data, coordinated protocols [and] clinical handoffs. Third, we’re really focused on creating value for patients, providers, payers, employers and health systems. Ultimately, it has to work for everybody.

Epic serves as our platform across both dental and medical care, allowing clinicians to access integrated health records and coordinate care in ways many organizations discuss conceptually but struggle to operationalize. We’ve turned that into a practical operating model.

Q: What does coordinated care look like day-to-day between clinicians in this model? What does it look like for patients?

BB: I think the most important thing is that coordination has to be practical. Far too often in healthcare, we strategize about grandiose ideas that never come to [fruition], but it only creates value when it becomes part of everyday workflows, documentation, handoffs and cross-team communication.

In our co-located practices, medical and dental teams participate in shared huddles each morning and coordinated care protocols. Dental teams may identify elevated blood pressure, diabetes risk, sleep-related concerns, inflammation or other clinical indicators that warrant medical follow-up. Likewise, medical teams may identify patients who need periodontal care, oral health support or dental follow-up as part of managing chronic conditions. The goal is not to blur professional roles. Oral health providers, physicians and advanced practice providers each practice at the top of their license within a system designed to connect their work.

For patients, the experience is more seamless. Rather than being told to follow up elsewhere, care teams can often coordinate services while the patient is already in the practice. In many cases the patient can just walk across the hall to see the other provider while they’re there. The goal is for patients to feel that the team is focused on the whole person, not just treating one aspect of their body or another aspect of their care, such as a tooth or just a blood pressure reading. The idea is for our providers on both sides of the house to treat the whole patient and focus on overall health and help them with their entire healthcare journey.

Q: How can this model enhance early detection of systemic disease?

BB: Dental visits are a powerful touchpoint. Many patients see their dental team more frequently than they see their primary care provider, creating opportunities to identify clinical indicators that may warrant further evaluation, such as evidence of oral inflammation or hypertension.

The key is what happens next. Our model connects those findings through shared clinical protocols, documentation and coordinated follow-up. Whether it be in a CBCT scan or medical grade imaging, or other observations that surface at the point of care in the dental or primary care environment, the information can be connected to the appropriate care pathway.

We’ve seen examples where integrated dental-medical workflows led to the identification of potentially serious health concerns and expedited medical intervention. That’s where integration creates true value for patients and significantly improves health outcomes.

Q: How do you encourage medical and dental teams to think beyond their traditional silos?

BB: It starts with respect for both professions. Integration can’t feel like one side is subordinate to the other, and it’s not. Dental teams have deep patient relationships and identify important clinical signals, and primary care teams bring diagnoses, treatment and longitudinal disease management across the patient journey. Both are essential.

From there, we make the clinical case clear. Everybody in healthcare has a story about why they entered healthcare and why they do what they do. As we focus on oral health and overall health and how they’re inextricably linked, we’re able to connect that purpose across our providers and our team members.

Healthcare hasn’t historically been organized that way, but when teams understand the connection between oral health and broader health outcomes, the model becomes intuitive.

The operating model is equally important. We support integration through shared protocols, coordinated handoffs and workflows that make collaboration achievable. Most clinicians want to do the right thing for patients. Our job is to make integration easy, so it becomes a natural part of care delivery rather than an additional burden.

Q: How are you measuring success within this integrated care model?

BB: We evaluate success across several dimensions.

First is access. Across the U.S., primary care is needed in just about every community. One of the first pieces we’re looking at is whether each location expands primary care access in the market it’s serving.

The second is the patient experience. We’ve received very positive feedback from patients, which tells us they are responding well to the model.

The third is clinical integration. We’re measuring how effective our workflows connect and whether those pieces create a seamless encounter for the patient, rather than simply being co-located.

The fourth is provider engagement. Provider engagement among those already part of our organization has been strong, and interest from clinicians who want to participate in the model continues to grow. Just this week, I received a message from a nurse practitioner who shared how much she valued the model, the team and the culture and everything, and wanted to know how she could take the next step toward ownership. I found that incredibly encouraging because it reflects the enthusiasm we’re seeing from clinicians who believe in a more integrated approach to care.

The final piece is value. We have to demonstrate value for all stakeholders because, as we look to restore primary care, the model has to be meaningful, scalable, financially sustainable and ultimately better for patients.

Q: Who is PDS Health currently partnering with in the medical space for this model?

BB: PDS Health has a lot of rich connections and partners across the healthcare ecosystem. Recently, we signed an affiliation agreement with a large multi-state integrated delivery system in the West, which will be announced publicly in the near future.

We’re also in active discussions with a number of other health systems that are looking for new approaches to expanding access and improving care coordination.

Health systems continue to face challenges related to primary care access, reimbursement cuts and population health strategy. We believe our model offers a practical way to strengthen coordinated care within local markets.

We believe the model is highly complementary to health systems, and we’re actively exploring opportunities with organizations that share our vision for integrated care.

Q: Are you targeting specific areas where there are shortages of primary care and/or dental providers?

BB: As we consider our model and the connection points between oral health and medical health, we want to make sure we’re leveraging PDS Health’s strength. We’re looking at markets where PDS Health is already present and building from that ecosystem, while also considering who can partner well in that space, what the employer or payer environment looks like, and most importantly, what patients need. We are looking at primary care access scores because, ultimately, that’s where we can do the most good.

Q: How do you plan to expand this model down the line?

BB: We’ll continue to be disciplined in our growth strategy. The focus is not growth for growth’s sake, but thoughtful expansion into markets where we can create meaningful value for patients and the communities we serve.

Health system partnerships will continue to be an important part of that strategy. We see a significant opportunity to collaborate with organizations that are already serving communities and looking for new ways to expand access to coordinated care.

As far as where it goes from here, I think there’s a lot of opportunity for growth and a lot of value that can be created through a more connected model of care. I don’t want to put artificial limits on what that could become because the culture at PDS Health is phenomenal, and there are a lot of things we’ll be able to accomplish as we continue partnering with like-minded organizations and individuals. Ultimately, I believe we’re going to be able to do a lot of good for the healthcare community.

The post The emerging healthcare model leaders are flocking to appeared first on Becker’s Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.