The Oral Health Literacy Toolkit

These resources explain oral health literacy concepts and their benefits for providers and dental patients. It also contains roadmaps and practical tools for boosting the health literacy of dental practices.

 

Oral Health Literacy in Practice

This guidebook is the core of the OHL toolkit. It provides:

  • An explanation of oral health literacy
  • Steps for assessing your practice and implementing change at your own pace
  • Strategies for communicating clearly and empowering patients
  • Example scripts and templates

Oral Health Literacy Toolkit

 

 

Practice Assessment Checklist

The checklist is a tool for assessing oral health literacy in dental practice. It helps teams quickly learn what they can do to improve communication.

Practice Assessment Checklist

What Is Teach-Back?

This booklet is an introduction to practicing teach-back, a technique where you ask patients to repeat back what you've said. It contains:

  • Step-by-step instructions for practicing teach-back
  • Opening lines to help you start teach-back conversations
  • Example scenarios and scripts so you can practice

Teach-Back Practice booklet

DISPONIBLE EN ESPAÑOL AQUÍ

此处提供中文版

 

 

 

 

Going to the Dentist Patient Brochure

A 6-panel brochure that explains what to expect during a dental visit and how to prepare. 

  • Written for people who are new to oral healthcare
  • Print on legal-size paper and fold for patients or bring to a print shop

Going to the Dentist Patient Brochure                            Disponible en Español aquí

Có sẵn bằng tiếng Việt tại đây

此处提供中文版

 

 

Oral Health Literacy Action Plan

A printable worksheet to help you choose health literacy goals and decide how to put them into action.

View Action Plan

Webinar: Oral Health Literacy and the California Oral Health Literacy Toolkit: Achieving Patient Behavior Through Effective Communication

The Oral Health Literacy Training Video is ​a 1-hour on-demand ​​​introduction to oral health literacy. It explains the concept of health literacy and its benefits for patients and dental practices. It also provides instruction​s​ for implementing oral health literacy into your practice and using the oral health literacy toolkit.​ All dental providers licensed in California who view the training video have the option of receiving 1.0 CDE credit upon completion of the Oral Health Literacy and the California Oral Health Literacy Toolkit: Achieving Patient Behavior Through Effective Communication course.​​ 

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the course, participants will improve their abilities to:​​ 

  • ​​​Recognize how implementing OHL in dental practices can improve patient-provider communication, patient oral health outcomes, and health equity.​​
  • ​​​Learn how to access and use the CA OHL Toolkit.​​
  • ​​​Understand how to apply and use OHL principles and strategies, such as teach-back, with diverse patients in dental practice settings.​​ 
Presenter: Jean Creasey, DDS

Jean Creasey, DDS California North State University, College of Dental Medicine, Faculty, Asst. Professor University California Berkeley, Health Research for Action Ambassador 

Jean Creasey, DDS, UCSF D 01’, attributes her zeal for “coaching patients to achieve optimal oral health” to her earlier career as a dental hygienist. She then practiced dentistry for 20 years in small group practice in Northern California with a focus on prevention and minimally invasive dentistry. She is an Assistant Professor and course director for Ethics and Professionalism at California Northstate’s College of Dental Medicine. Dr. Creasey also lectures nationally and internationally on caries management by risk assessment, improving communications in health-care, and consults with California’s Virtual Dental Home project. She travels regularly to rural southwestern Uganda where she champions community dental health projects and access to care. She served for several years in leadership for the California Dental Association as a trustee and as Chair of their Government Affairs Council and the CDA Foundation. She is a past member of the Board of Directors for the National CAMBRA Coalition. She is a fellow in the American College of Dentistry, the International College of Dentistry, and the Pierre Fauchard Academy. She currently serves as the editor for the ACD Northern California section.

Plain-Language Oral Health Glossary 

A set of printable sheets with health-literate definitions of terms that are often used in dental offices. It offers a common language that dental care providers and their staff can use when communicating with patients. 

Glossary

Image of plain-language oral health glossary

Developed By

California Department Public Health Office of Oral Health logo

 

The California Department of Public Health’s Office of Oral Health works to improve the oral health, oral health equity, and wellbeing of all Californians through evidence-based or evidence-informed prevention, education, and organized community efforts.

Health Research for Action UC Berkeley logo

 

Health Research for Action is a research center of UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, focused on working with communities to co-design solutions to systemic health barriers.

Oral Health Literacy Toolkit © 2025. Funded by the Office of Oral Health, CDPH Contract 18-10565 A01 and developed by the Health Research for Action Center at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health. This resource may not be edited or modified without the written consent of the California Department of Public Health.

Publications

Want to cite this resource? Here’s our recommended citation: Health Research for Action Center, University of California, Berkeley; Office of Oral Health, California Department of Public Health. (2021). Oral Health Literacy Toolkit. Accessed at oralhealthsupport.ucsf.edu/oral-health-literacy-toolkit on [insert date].

Here are other related publications:

  1. Tseng W, Pleasants E, Ivey SL, Sokal-Gutierrez K, Kumar J, Hoeft KS, Horowitz AM, Ramos-Gomez F, Sodhi M, Liu J, Neuhauser L. Barriers and facilitators to promoting oral health literacy and patient communication among dental providers in California. IJERPH. 2021. 18; 216. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18010216
  2. Neuhauser L, Eleftherion A, Freed B, Sokal-Gutierrez K, Jackson R, Liu J, Ivey SL, Hoeft K, Horowitz AM, Kumar J. Development of the California Oral Health Literacy Toolkit. JCDA. 2021 Sep 1;49(9): 587-593. https://escholarship.org/content/qt01r248xr/qt01r248xr.pdf
  3. Hao CY, Sokal-Gutierrez K, Ivey SL, Hoeft KS. Rollout of the Oral Health Literacy Toolkit in California: A mixed-methods analysis. JCDA. 2022 Nov 1;50(11):671-81. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19424396.2022.12224361
  4. Yeeda E, Tseng W, Neuhauser L, Ivey SL, Liu J, Latham, L, Ta M, Robinson L. Assessing the use of an oral health literacy toolkit in three California dental practices: A mixed-methods feasibility study. JCDA. 2025. 53(1). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19424396.2025.2532871