1704-13247

This investment supports Oral Health Colorado (OHCO) to build the capacity of local urban and rural communities to engage in oral health advocacy efforts and continue to advocate for statewide policies that improve quality and affordable oral health access, coverage, and integration into primary care for in Colorado. Over the past three years, OHCO has been engaged in expanding, strengthening and diversifying Colorado’s oral health network to include greater representation of communities of color, faith organizations and the business community. Specifically, OHCO will continue its efforts to support and provide technical assistance to five rural areas of the state as they move toward consumer-driven advocacy and identifying key community-driven oral health priorities; continue work to bolster the capacity of diverse local oral health coalitions for action in three urban communities: Aurora, Colorado Springs and Grand Junction; and advocate for the protection of the adult dental benefit in Medicaid, inclusion of oral health in State Innovation Model (SIM) initiatives, expansion of teledentistry legislation/regulation, and the Colorado Accountable Care Collaborative. Colorado continues to be a leader in the Oral Health 2020 network around effective consumer engagement through their development of local oral health coalitions as key hubs within the statewide oral health network. This shift from state-level leadership to community-driven priorities continues to guide and inform OHCO’s annual priorities, and is a core component of its FY2017-19 strategic plan. OHCO's work in the rural and urban communities across the state will focus on developing local action plans that address either community water fluoridation, access/consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, or the development of in-school oral health programs/services (in partnership with Smart Mouths, Smart Kids). Deepening the engagement of local communities in oral health will enable OHCO to more broadly build the public will to create sustainable social change. $148,340 will be used to support personnel time to oversee network development, travel and meeting expenses, the development of the local oral health coalitions, and contracted services including meeting facilitation and project evaluation. This proposal aligns with the Oral Health 2020 Goal 6 of improving the public perception of the value of oral health to overall health and the target that oral health is increasing included in health dialogue and public policy.