ORAL HEALTH AMERICA
B R I N G I N G H E A LT H Y MOUTHS TO LIFE O R A L H E A LT H A M E R I C A . O R G
ABOUT OHA Oral Health America (OHA) is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1955 and located in Chicago. OHA is an umbrella organization comprised of four key programs: Smiles Across America®, Wisdom Tooth Project®, NSTEP®, and Campaign for Oral Health Equity. Our mission is to change lives by connecting communities with resources to increase access to care, education, and advocacy for all Americans, especially those most vulnerable.
• ACCESS: OHA encourages oral health promotion through funding, technical assistance, donated dental products, and by facilitating public-private partnerships
• EDUCATION: OHA’s messages to the American public generate over 500 million audience impressions annually to promote the importance of oral health
• ADVOCACY: OHA campaigns for oral health equity and encourages policies that make oral health a priority for all 314 million Americans
SMILES ACROSS AMERICA® Smiles Across America® (SAA) increases access to preventive dental services in school-based and school-linked settings for children most at risk for developing dental disease. SAA identifies promising community efforts and supports the development and expansion of programs, with an emphasis on disease prevention. SAA supports community efforts through grant funding, donated dental products, and by providing technical assistance, including webinars and conferences. 2013 Program Goals: • Impact over 400 million children in 50 states. • Distribute over 500,000 units of donated dental product through the Product Donation Project. • Surpass $2.65 million in grant dollars distributed to local programs since 2004. • Seal over 500,000 teeth on our way to sealing two million teeth by 2020. • Provide webinars on best practices, health literacy, policy issues, fundraising and dental products.
WISDOM TOOTH PROJECT® The Wisdom Tooth Project® (WTP) is committed to changing the lives of our nation’s fastest growing population—older adults. OHA is taking the lead on both national and local levels to connect communities with resources, educate older adults and their care advisors, and advocate for policies that improve oral health. 2013 Program Goals: • Lead the launch and continued development of ToothWisdom.org for older adults and the over 40 million care advisors who seek oral health education and access to care. • Facilitate demonstration projects, including the expansion of the Oral Medicine Clinic model, to directly impact the oral and overall health of older adults. • Collaborate with an interdisciplinary group of stakeholders to host the first WTP symposium focusing on the oral and overall health of older adults. • Implement our research on best practices for communicating with vulnerable adults and those in rural and underserved area.
CAMPAIGN FOR ORAL HEALTH EQUITY Campaign for Oral Health Equity includes communications and events that prioritize mouth health alongside other health considerations. Initiatives include: Fall for Smiles® educates Americans about healthy food choices, avoiding tobacco, brushing and flossing twice daily, and visiting a dental professional at least twice yearly. Medical Dental Dialogues facilitates discussions between researchers, clinicians, policymakers, media, and other key stakeholders and renders information usable by practitioners and the public. Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives dental coalition raises awareness about children’s oral health through a national campaign with the Ad Council.
NSTEP® In 2012, NSTEP® celebrated its 11-year anniversary as Little League International’s official health sponsor. NSTEP works to prevent people, especially young people, from starting to use spit and smokeless tobacco and aims to help all users quit.
CONTACT & SUPPORT OHA eNews Sign up for OHA’s monthly eNewsletter at ORALHEATHAMERICA.ORG
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O R A L H E A LT H A M E R I C A .O R G Oral Health America 180 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1150 Chicago, IL 60601 T: (312) 836-9900 | F: (312) 836-9986