CareQuest Institute and Henry Schein Launch BRIDGE Health Network to Advance Dental-Medical Integration and Preventive Healthcare
CareQuest Institute for Oral Health and Henry Schein, Inc. have announced the launch of the BRIDGE Health Network, a collaborative initiative designed to strengthen the integration of dental and medical healthcare services across the United States. The program will bring together dental care providers, academic institutions, community health organizations and other healthcare stakeholders to expand preventive health screenings within routine dental visits.
Initial pilot programs will introduce vital-sign assessments, lifestyle risk evaluations and Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-waived point-of-care testing, including HbA1c screening, to help identify patients at risk of chronic conditions such as diabetes and improve coordination with medical providers.
CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, an organization focused on improving oral health and advancing health equity, and Henry Schein, Inc., a global provider of healthcare solutions for dental and medical professionals, are collaborating to establish the BRIDGE Health Network. The initiative aims to demonstrate how dental practices can become more active participants in preventive healthcare by incorporating broader health assessments into routine oral health appointments.
The network will bring together healthcare providers operating across different geographic regions and care delivery environments to develop and implement practical approaches to dental-medical integration. Through a series of pilot programs, participating dental practices will introduce additional screening capabilities that can help identify potential health risks, provide patients with more comprehensive health information and encourage timely medical follow-up.
The initial programs will focus on integrating vital signs, lifestyle markers and point-of-care diagnostic screening into routine dental hygiene visits. These assessments will include HbA1c testing, which measures average blood glucose levels over approximately three months and can help identify individuals who may have diabetes or prediabetes.
By incorporating these screenings into existing dental workflows, the initiative aims to make preventive healthcare more accessible while strengthening communication between dental and medical professionals.
The BRIDGE Health Network is designed to address the longstanding separation between dental and medical healthcare systems. Although oral health is closely connected to overall health, dental services have traditionally operated independently from broader medical care. This separation can create missed opportunities for early identification of chronic diseases and coordination of appropriate treatment.
Through collaboration between CareQuest and Henry Schein, the network aims to establish a scalable model that demonstrates how dental practices can contribute to broader preventive healthcare efforts.
Addressing the Connection Between Oral Health and Overall Health
Oral health is an important component of overall health, with growing recognition that conditions affecting the mouth can be associated with wider systemic health concerns.
Regular dental visits provide opportunities for healthcare professionals to identify potential health problems that may otherwise remain undetected. Dental teams interact with patients regularly, making oral healthcare settings valuable locations for preventive assessments and health education.
However, these opportunities have not been fully incorporated into the broader healthcare system. Many dental appointments primarily focus on oral examinations, preventive cleaning and treatment of dental conditions, while other health indicators may not routinely be assessed.
The BRIDGE Health Network seeks to change this approach by expanding the role of dental practices in identifying potential systemic health risks.
The initiative will introduce structured workflows that enable dental teams to collect relevant patient information, perform selected health screenings and provide patients with guidance about appropriate medical follow-up.
Diabetes represents one of the major health conditions that the program intends to address through these expanded screening capabilities.
Diabetes and oral health have an important relationship, as elevated blood glucose levels can affect oral health, while oral health complications may also influence the management of diabetes. Despite the availability of diagnostic tests and treatment options, a considerable number of individuals remain unaware that they have diabetes or prediabetes.
According to the statistics cited by the organizations, approximately 80% of individuals with prediabetes and 28% of people with diabetes are unaware of their condition.
These figures highlight the need for additional opportunities to identify individuals who may be at risk and connect them with appropriate medical services.
Dental settings could play a valuable role in this process because patients frequently visit dental professionals for routine care, even when they are not receiving regular preventive medical assessments.
By introducing chairside screening procedures, dental practices may help identify individuals with elevated blood glucose levels who could benefit from further medical evaluation.
HbA1c Screening to Support Earlier Identification of Diabetes Risk
A central component of the BRIDGE Health Network’s initial pilot programs will be the introduction of point-of-care HbA1c screening in participating dental practices.
HbA1c testing provides information about a person’s average blood glucose levels over a period of approximately two to three months. It is commonly used in medical settings to support the identification and management of diabetes and prediabetes.
The use of chairside HbA1c testing in dental offices could create additional opportunities to identify patients who may have previously undetected blood glucose abnormalities.
Research cited in the announcement has demonstrated the potential value of this approach. Chairside A1C screening has identified elevated HbA1c levels in more than 11% of previously undiagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes and an additional 47% of patients with prediabetes.
These findings suggest that dental practices could contribute to earlier identification of metabolic health risks when appropriate screening procedures are incorporated into routine care.
The BRIDGE Health Network intends to make such screening more practical by introducing CLIA-waived point-of-care testing into participating dental offices.
CLIA-waived tests are laboratory tests that have been determined to carry a low risk of erroneous results and are subject to simplified regulatory requirements when performed according to applicable instructions.
By incorporating suitable point-of-care testing technologies, dental teams can collect screening information during regular appointments without requiring patients to arrange a separate initial visit solely for this purpose.
The results can then be discussed with patients, accompanied by educational resources and recommendations for appropriate medical follow-up.
The initiative is intended to support early risk identification rather than replace comprehensive medical diagnosis. Patients with concerning screening results will be encouraged to seek additional evaluation from qualified medical professionals.
Earlier identification and management of diabetes and prediabetes may also generate economic benefits by helping reduce the burden of complications associated with delayed diagnosis. Research referenced by the organizations suggests that addressing these conditions earlier could potentially save the U.S. healthcare system up to $100 million annually.
Three Strategic Priorities of the BRIDGE Health Network
The BRIDGE Health Network has been established around three major objectives designed to demonstrate the clinical, operational and financial value of integrating preventive healthcare into dental settings.
1. Demonstrating the feasibility and benefits of preventive screenings
The first objective is to co-design and implement pilot programs that evaluate how preventive health screenings can be incorporated into routine dental care.
Participating organizations will introduce workflows for collecting patient vital signs, assessing lifestyle markers and conducting selected point-of-care screenings, including HbA1c testing.
The pilots will examine how these activities can be integrated into existing dental appointments while supporting dental teams in identifying potential health risks.
The initiative will also evaluate the practical benefits of providing patients with more comprehensive health summaries and encouraging appropriate medical follow-up.
2. Establishing the clinical and business case for dental-medical integration
The second objective focuses on demonstrating the value of dental-medical integration across clinical, financial and operational measures.
For dental practices, adopting broader health screening services requires appropriate workflows, staff training, technology integration and access to suitable testing supplies.
The network aims to examine how these requirements can be addressed while demonstrating the potential benefits for patients, healthcare providers and payers.
By evaluating the outcomes of the pilot programs, CareQuest and Henry Schein intend to develop evidence supporting the adoption of integrated preventive healthcare models.
3. Developing a practical implementation playbook
The third objective is to use the findings from the pilot programs to create a comprehensive playbook for dental-medical integration.
The playbook will include actionable workflows, best practices and practical guidance to help other dental organizations introduce similar screening approaches.
It is expected to support wider adoption by providing healthcare professionals with information about implementation requirements, clinical processes and operational considerations.
Through these three priorities, the organizations aim to move beyond individual pilot projects and establish a model that can be replicated across different dental care environments.
Henry Schein to Lead Pilot Implementation and Technical Support
Henry Schein will play a central role in implementing the BRIDGE Health Network’s initial pilot programs.
The company will serve as the primary contact for device and supply distribution, technical assistance, clinic engagement and training.
Its responsibilities will include helping participating dental practices access the equipment and resources needed to incorporate point-of-care screening into their existing workflows.
Henry Schein will also work with participating organizations to support the practical implementation of the screening procedures and ensure that dental teams receive appropriate guidance.
This involvement builds on the company’s broader commitment to supporting dental-medical integration and helping healthcare professionals introduce preventive health services into routine patient care.
CareQuest will contribute at the program level by providing data to support the initiative in collaboration with Henry Schein and participating clinics.
The organizations will work together to assess the implementation process, collect relevant findings and evaluate the potential benefits of integrating systemic health screening into dental care.
Their collaboration is intended to ensure that the pilot programs generate useful information that can support future expansion of the network.
Dentrix Ascend Enhanced to Support Integrated Health Information
Technology integration is another important component of the BRIDGE Health Network.
To support the new screening workflows, Dentrix Ascend has been enhanced with additional fields that allow participating dental practices to record point-of-care screening information directly within the dental practice management system.
This enhancement is designed to help dental teams incorporate broader health information into patient records and existing clinical workflows.
By capturing screening results within the dental technology platform, participating practices can maintain a more comprehensive record of relevant patient health information.
The integration is expected to support continuity across patient visits and help dental professionals access previously collected screening information when appropriate.
It also represents an important step toward making dental-medical integration part of routine practice operations rather than treating preventive health screening as a separate activity.
Dr. Ryan Hungate, Chief Strategy and Clinical Officer at Henry Schein One, emphasized the opportunity to identify individuals who may have undiagnosed diabetes through dental visits.
He noted that diabetes can remain undiagnosed for years and that dental appointments provide an important opportunity to reach individuals during that period.
According to Hungate, introducing point-of-care HbA1c screening into dental operatories can help identify patients who may be at risk and could benefit from additional evaluation by a medical provider.
He also highlighted the importance of recording screening results directly in Dentrix Ascend or Axium, enabling dental practices to develop a more comprehensive understanding of patients’ health histories during future visits.
Broad Participation Across the Dental and Academic Healthcare Ecosystem
The BRIDGE Health Network’s inaugural cohort includes organizations representing different types of dental care delivery environments.
The participating organizations will contribute to the early implementation and evaluation of the initiative, providing insights from community-based healthcare, safety-net providers, multi-site dental organizations and academic institutions.
The initial cohort includes:
- Bright Direction Dental
- Imagine Medical & Dental Group
- NKC Dental
- Smile House JBL
- University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine
- University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine
- Workman School of Dental Medicine at High Point University
- Westwind Integrative Health
- Zufall Health
The diversity of participating organizations is intended to help evaluate how dental-medical integration can be implemented across different operational structures and patient populations.
Community-based and safety-net providers may offer important insights into improving access to preventive screening among underserved populations. Multi-site dental organizations can contribute experience in implementing standardized workflows across multiple locations.
Academic institutions can also support the development and evaluation of integrated care approaches through their educational and clinical expertise.
By involving organizations with different capabilities and care delivery models, the network aims to establish practical recommendations that can be applied across the broader dental healthcare ecosystem.
The participating organizations will collaborate with CareQuest and Henry Schein to develop the implementation playbook and share lessons from their early experiences.
Leadership Emphasizes a More Integrated Healthcare Model
Leaders from both organizations highlighted the importance of reducing the separation between dental and medical healthcare services.
Azeem Mallick, MBA, Vice President of Innovation and Partnerships at CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, explained that dentistry has historically operated as a separate area of healthcare despite its strong relationship with numerous chronic health conditions.
He emphasized that the BRIDGE Health Network reflects CareQuest’s commitment to improving overall health through oral health.
Mallick also highlighted the importance of the collaboration with Henry Schein in expanding the initiative’s reach and introducing practical integrated solutions across different healthcare settings.
David Kochman, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Henry Schein, described the collaboration as part of a broader shift toward recognizing dentistry and medicine as complementary components of healthcare rather than independent services.
He noted that the initiative, developed with CareQuest and clinical partners, aims to establish a new approach to primary healthcare focused on prevention and early detection.
The network is intended to create a practical framework in which dental practices contribute to broader health assessments and help patients access appropriate medical care.
BRIDGE Health Network to Be Featured at Major Healthcare Events
The initiative has already been introduced to the oral health community through its appearance at the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health (AAOSH) Conference, held from September 10 to 12, 2026.
During the conference, various point-of-care testing technologies were demonstrated and shared with attendees, highlighting the potential role of dental practices in supporting broader preventive health screening.
The organizations also plan to feature the BRIDGE Health Network at upcoming industry events to increase awareness and encourage participation from healthcare stakeholders.
The initiative is scheduled to be highlighted at the following events:
- HLTH: November 15–18, 2026.
- Rocky Mountain Dental Convention: January 21–23, 2027.
These events will provide opportunities to introduce the network’s objectives, discuss dental-medical integration and engage with healthcare organizations interested in adopting preventive screening approaches.
Advancing Preventive Healthcare Through Dental-Medical Integration
The launch of the BRIDGE Health Network represents an important collaborative effort to expand the role of dental practices within the broader healthcare system.
By incorporating vital-sign assessments, lifestyle markers and point-of-care diagnostic testing into routine dental visits, CareQuest and Henry Schein aim to create additional opportunities for identifying chronic health risks and supporting earlier medical intervention.
The initiative also emphasizes the importance of technology, standardized workflows, provider education and collaboration across different healthcare settings.
Through its initial pilot programs, the network will evaluate the practical implementation of integrated screening services, assess their clinical and operational benefits, and develop guidance that can support wider adoption.
With Henry Schein leading implementation and technical support, CareQuest contributing program-level data, and a diverse group of dental organizations and academic institutions participating in the inaugural cohort, the initiative aims to build a sustainable model for connecting oral healthcare with medical services.
Ultimately, the BRIDGE Health Network seeks to demonstrate that dental visits can serve as more than opportunities to maintain oral health. By using these regular patient interactions to support preventive screening and medical referrals, the initiative aims to improve early disease identification, strengthen care coordination and contribute to better health outcomes for patients, providers, payers and society.
About CareQuest
CareQuest is a mission-driven organization dedicated to improving overall health through oral health. Comprised of CareQuest Institute for Oral Health® and CareQuest Innovation Partners, CareQuest works to create a more accessible, equitable, and integrated health system. The national nonprofit CareQuest Institute for Oral Health advances systemic change through philanthropy, analytics and data insights, health transformation, policy and advocacy, and education.
CareQuest Innovation Partners, the Institute’s for-profit subsidiary, funds, scales, and convenes transformative solutions alongside industry partners, startups, and investors to improve oral and overall health. Together, they share a unified mission to improve the oral health of all.
About Henry Schein, Inc.
Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC) is a products, services, and technology platforms company for healthcare customers. With more than 25,000 Team Schein Members worldwide, the Company’s network of trusted advisors provides more than 1 million customers globally with more than 300 valued solutions that help improve operational success and clinical outcomes. Our Business, Clinical, Technology, and Supply Chain solutions help office-based dental and medical practitioners work more efficiently so they can provide quality care more effectively. These solutions also support dental laboratories, government and institutional healthcare clinics, as well as other alternate care sites.
Henry Schein operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, with a selection of more than 300,000 branded products and Henry Schein corporate brand products in our distribution centers.
A FORTUNE 500 Company and a member of the S&P 500® index, Henry Schein is headquartered in Melville, N.Y., and has operations or affiliates in 34 countries and territories. The Company’s sales reached $13.2 billion in 2025, and have grown at a compound annual rate of approximately 11.0 percent since Henry Schein became a public company in 1995.