News from OHRC

The following news and resources are featured by the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC).

New Resources on Perinatal Oral Health

These two resources on perinatal oral health—best practice approach and policy statement—were produced by the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) and OHRC as part of our partnership in the Consortium for Oral Health.

Best Practice Approach: Perinatal Oral Health provides information on oral health during pregnancy and the postpartum period. It discusses problems such as women’s difficulty accessing oral health care, low use of oral health care, and hormonal changes during pregnancy that can increase risk for periodontal disease. It offers a strategic framework for improving perinatal oral health. Actions include monitoring perinatal oral health status, providing education, promoting partnerships, developing policies and plans, promoting high-quality care, ensuring an adequate workforce, and conducting research. Guidelines and recommendations from authoritative sources, research evidence, and practice examples are included.

Policy Statement: Perinatal Oral Health provides information on oral health during the perinatal period and on issues that prevent women from achieving optimal oral health for themselves and their child during pregnancy and postpartum. It discusses problems such as women’s difficulty accessing oral health care, low use of care, lack of knowledge and understanding about perinatal oral health, and hesitancy among oral health professionals to provide care to pregnant women. It also offers a strategic framework for improving perinatal oral health. 

See more best practice approaches and policy statements on ASTDD’s website. ASTDD also recently announced their Summary Report: 2025 Synopses of State Dental Public Health Programs. The summary is available to the public; members have access to the full report. Members also receive a discount on registration for the National Oral Health Conference (NOHC) along with other member benefits. 

NOHC Call for Abstracts and Award Nominations

The call for abstracts is open for the 2026 National Oral Health Conference (NOHC) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, April 13–15, 2026 (Weekend Workshops April 11 and 12).

Abstract submissions will be accepted for 60- and 90-minute seminars, roundtable presentations, general posters, oral presentations, the American Association of Public Health Dentistry Leverett graduate student merit awards, predoctoral dental student awards, and dental hygiene student awards. (Weekend Workshops are by invitation only.) Before you begin your submissions, please read the overview of abstract submissions and then review the specific guidelines for each type of submission. The planning committee would like your help to identify new topics and speakers. If you have suggestions for topics for sessions, please send a message with the topic title, suggested presenters, and their contact information and a committee member will follow up and encourage a submission.

Resource Spotlight

Selections from OHRC’s Library

The Collaborative Effect: Transforming Oral Health in North Carolina

This report provides information on the Community Oral Health Transformation (COrHT) initiative, an effort to improve oral health equity and oral-health-care delivery across North Carolina. The initiative aims to align community needs with person-centered, integrated care principles through cross-sector collaboration, advocacy, and systems transformation. The report discusses challenges to attaining optimal oral health, provides COrHT background and selection criteria, and includes an impact assessment. [Produced by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health]

Click to view more spotlighted resources

In the News

100 Million Mouths Campaign and Newsletter

The 100 Million Mouths Campaign (100MMC) aims to train 50 oral health education champions—one in every state—to integrate oral health curricula into health profession schools. These champions collaborate with medical, nursing, and residency programs to empower future primary care providers to improve the oral health of 100 million people over the next decade. 100MMC offers a monthly interprofessional newsletter, “Oral Health Fillings, Bits and Bites.” Each issue contains an article that connects an oral health topic to overall health and provides educators with a quick and easy, “drop-in” active learning strategy. Subscribe.

ADS Institute for Dental Safety and Science

The Association for Dental Safety (ADS), a nonprofit formerly known as OSAP, has launched a new organization called the ADS Institute for Dental Safety and Science. The institute was formed to address the unique and growing needs for evidence-based education, resources, and advocacy dedicated solely to the field of dental infection prevention, a role previously filled by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Division of Oral Health. The institute plans to appoint an advisory committee to oversee the process of updating the Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings, which outline national industry standards for safe oral healthcare and were last updated by the CDC in 2003. The institute is also exploring opportunities to create educational content and risk assessment tools and training programs for state and local governments.

• ADS recently announced “Ask ADS,” an AI-powered assistant that provides instant, expert answers to dental infection prevention, occupational health, and patient safety questions.

Best Practices in Accessing Rural Oral Health Care

The National Rural Oral Health Initiative, a combined effort of the National Rural Health Association and the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, has released its 2025 Compendium of Best Practices in Rural Oral Health. The compendium contains best practices in programs, models, and policies aimed at enhancing access to quality rural oral health care.

NNOHA Call for Nominations for Outstanding Contribution Awards 

The National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) presents several awards at their annual conference, which is in San Antonio this year from November 9–12. Submit a nomination by September 8 for an award in one of the following categories.

• John McFarland Leadership Award recognizes an exemplary individual or organization for leadership and noteworthy initiative in promoting the development of community-oriented oral health to the underserved.
• Outstanding Clinician Award recognizes an individual that is a direct service provider who has exhibited outstanding achievement in promoting clinical excellence within NNOHA and/or improving health services to underserved populations.
• Oral Health Champion Award recognizes an individual who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in promoting and supporting the importance of oral health for everyone and especially for underserved populations. Note that the oral health champion does not need to be an oral health provider; it can be anyone who has made a significant impact through their championing of oral health care access.

Oral Health Conference: Advancing Well-Being Through Oral Health

This free New Jersey oral health conference on August 7, 2025, is both virtual and in-person and open to all at no charge with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It aims to bring together oral health care advocates, community and faith-based organizations, health care workers, public health professionals, policymakers, and health leaders to explore ways to advance population-based preventive and restorative oral health care. The keynote speaker is Marco Vujicic, chief economist at the Health Policy Institute of the American Dental Association. Learn more and register.

Teledentistry Playbook in Development

In a joint project, the School-Based Health Alliance and Virginia Health Catalyst are collaborating to publish a playbook on school-based teledentistry. The playbook is designed for oral health providers and support staff at clinics, as well as school health professionals—including school nurses, wellness coordinators, and others—who are interested in starting or strengthening a school-based teledentistry program. It may also be helpful to teachers, school administrators, and others working in school-based health who want to better understand how teledentistry can fit into their practice. The collaborators seek input on the topics that will be covered in the playbook, the tools that will be included, and how it will be organized. View the draft outline of the playbook and complete a short survey if you’d like to help.

Oral Health Learning Café

OHRC's Oral Health Learning Café is an informal, supportive space for professionals to engage with others about integrating oral health and primary care. There will be no café in August, but join us September 11, 2025 for “MouthMatters: From Interprofessional Education to Maintenance of Certification” with Madlen Caplow of the Arcora Foundation. Register for the webinar. Visit our website to find recordings of past Café gatherings and subscribe to the discussion list to receive announcements about upcoming webinars and the monthly Integration Alert.