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Oral Health

The Office of Oral Health provides Boston residents with reliable oral health information, program support, training, and educational resources.

The Office of Oral Health aims to connect local residents with high quality, accessible, reliable, and affordable dental services. We exist to improve and protect dental health, overall wellbeing, and reduce health inequalities for Boston’s residents. We believe all residents should have access to accurate oral health information, innovative program support, training and educational resources. Our office works with external partners to focus on reducing the oral health care gaps for Boston's most vulnerable populations. 

Goals

Goals:

  • Reduce oral health care gaps for the city's most vulnerable and underserved populations
  • Increase access to reliable oral health information for the public and professionals
  • Establish innovative program support/partnerships
  • Increase training and educational resources

Boston Oral Health Improvement Plan

Improvement Plan
Boston oral health improvement plan

We created the Boston Oral Health Improvement Plan​ in collaboration with the Boston Oral Health Improvement Coalition. The Plan improves oral health for Boston residents. It also prevents oral health disease by:

  • ​Increasing knowledge of how oral health affects overall health
  • Reducing disparities and inequities in dental health. These gaps include, income, race, ethnicity, age, and public housing status
  • Changing social norms, expectations and beliefs around oral health
  • Identifying and supporting methods that increase a racially and ethnically ​diverse dental workforce

Read the full version of the Oral Health Improvement Workplan

Boston has many oral health resources including:

  • Three medical and dental schools
  • A dental hygiene school
  • Several foundations
  • Several community centers

Despite these resources, there are critical oral health disparities. Our Office of Oral Health developed a comprehensive and coordinated plan of action to address this gap.

The activities of the Oral Health Improvement Plan include:

  • Implement an oral health surveillance system
  • Create a city-based oral health coalition
  • Develop  a “Burden of Oral Disease” report
  • Develop a City of Boston Oral Health Improvement Plan
  • Expand partnerships and secure funding and support
  • Implement the City of Boston Oral Health Improvement Workplan

Service Requests

Is your organization looking for free dental or oral health information? Do you need supplies like toothbrushes, toothpaste or floss? Are you interested in presentations or trainings on a dental or oral health topic?

Make a Request

Make a request by filling out our Service Request Form. Submit completed forms at oralhealth@bphc.org at least 2 weeks before an event to make your request!

Dental Professionals

The Office of Oral Health provides access to information about:

  • Oral health gaps in Boston
  • Improving Oral Health in Boston
  • Interprofessional education and training
  • Trainings and presentations
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