A Voice for the Unheard: Improving Oral Health in Connecticut

On a warm Saturday in November, dozens of vendors lined Dunkin’ Park in Hartford, Connecticut, for the Get Out the Vote Health Fair, where visitors could find information on health care resources and connect with community partners. One of those booths belonged to the Connecticut Oral Health Initiative (COHI) — an organization that advocates for oral health access, quality, and equity in the state.

That day, the COHI team was doing one of its favorite activities: educating the community about the importance of dental care.

“COHI exists to be a voice for those who are currently unheard,” says Gary Turco, community engagement specialist at COHI. “We’re connecting with people who need care the most.”

COHI is the only nonprofit in Connecticut that focuses solely on advocating and pursuing policy changes for oral health for Connecticut residents. COHI does not provide direct patient services. Instead, they work with like-minded organizations to collaborate for equitable oral health policies.

COHI is a small organization made up of three employees: Turco, Executive Director T. J. Clarke II, and Operations Assistant Najla Mack. But the nonprofit gets help from its active board of directors and organizations like CareQuest Institute, which has awarded grants to COHI.

“With the funding that CareQuest Institute provided, we are surveying Connecticut residents on their oral health . . . to actually uncover what the greater need is,” Clarke says, citing one recent project. “And then we can turn those results into policy recommendations.”

Those recommendations have helped the small team make big changes.

One example is COHI’s report, A Medicaid Gap Analysis of Oral Health Care for Adults in Connecticut, which collected and analyzed Medicaid service utilization data, geographical information on the state’s provider network, and the experiences of Medicaid beneficiaries and providers. Using this report, advocates showed that the lack of periodontal coverage within Medicaid was one of the most severe issues negatively affecting the oral health of adults in the state. Starting in 2024, the new state budget includes funding for periodontal coverage for people enrolled in Medicaid in Connecticut who have certain medical conditions, like diabetes.

It’s the latest victory of many that the organization has helped spearhead since it was founded in 2001. In 2019, COHI also led the effort to get a dental therapy bill passed in Connecticut. This bill allows dental therapists, who are also licensed dental hygienists with at least 18 months of additional training, to work within public health settings. COHI is still working to improve the law and ensure implementation.

“If it wasn’t for COHI, there wouldn’t be anyone that would have the same focus like we do with oral health,” says Turco.

To learn about COHI’s work and partnerships in communities across Connecticut, check out this video.