Monday, October 20, 2014

DentaQuest Foundation Grantees & Partners Commit to Oral Health 2020



This week, the DentaQuest Foundation is welcoming over 160 grantees, partners and friends to our annual grantee gathering in Philadelphia. This year’s theme is “Strengthening the Core: From Network to Social Movement.”

Since 2011, the Foundation, through grants and programmatic direction, has been fostering the growth and development of a national network of individuals and organizations dedicated to improving oral health.  This week’s gathering is an opportunity for members of this growing network to make new connections, celebrate individual and collective successes,  get support in meeting challenges, and become inspired by creative thinking and unexpected viewpoints.

This is also an opportunity for all of us to consider how we will commit to the possibilities of Oral Health 2020 to improve oral health across the lifespan and eliminate dental disease in children.

How will each of us – grantee, partner and friend – contribute to the ambitious targets that we collectively aim to achieve by the end of the decade?
  • 75% of all children reach age 5 without a cavity
  • Oral health is incorporated into the 10 largest school districts in the US
  • A comprehensive adult Medicaid dental benefit is available in 30 states and through Medicare
  • A comprehensive state and national oral health measurement system is developed

A focus will also be on how to elevate oral health equity and health literacy in the expanding work of the network. Meeting the milestones of Oral Health 2020 will bring the greatest benefit to communities that today experience the greatest burden of poor oral health. How can the oral health network help them lift their voices to support changes that deliver new possibilities for oral health for all? 


We have an exciting week ahead. Participants will be sharing their thoughts via twitter, using the hashtag #DQFConnections. Follow along to read all about the accomplishments and goals of our grantees. Attending the conference? Use the hashtag to tell us about it.