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.