Dental Services
Education
Research
Policy & Awareness$2,477,014 Raised
50%
Our Goal: $5,000,000
Donate now: $1 donated brings $107 of oral health education and services to public school students
Who We Are
About the Center for Oral Health
Nearly forty years ago, the Center for Oral Health (COH) was founded as the Dental Health Foundation. Today, COH is a highly impactful non-profit organization with the mission “to improve oral health, especially of vulnerable populations, through innovation, research, education and advocacy.” COH lives its mission by collaborating with national, state, and local partners to develop innovative community-based strategies for improving oral health outcomes and achieving desired results.
COH proudly operates the Early Smiles program - an innovative public-private partnership that minimizes the dental disease burden among children and families. Since 2011, COH has been leveraging Early Smiles' expertise, partnerships, and resources to expand school-based/school-linked oral health care. The operational model was designed with the intention to work efficiently and effectively by creating a turn-key program that applies key business performance metrics and a tailored provider delivery model. This gives our team legs with powerful capacity and flexibility to address the unique needs at the ground level within any community or school district.
COH and its partners use highly customized staffing and programmatic models based on the individual needs and resources available within each community served. Strong annual outcomes provide access to oral health education and preventative care that serves children and their families. For example, in Sacramento County alone, annual averages for the Early Smiles' program include oral health education delivered to 45,000 students, 27,000 dental screenings, and over 21,000 Fluoride Varnish treatments in over 300 schools across 15 Sacramento County School Districts.
Our Mission
Our mission is to improve the oral health of vulnerable populations through innovation, research, education and advocacy.
Our Vision
The vision of Center for Oral Health has remained unchanged since our founding in 1985: Oral Health for All.
Our Culture
Our core values are Humanism, Getting Things Done, Acceptance & Inclusion, Maximize Sustainability, and Teamwork.
Our History
Our Founders
COH was envisioned in the 1980's by four extraordinary individuals. Together with initial funding from a Knight Ridder grant, these men laid the groundwork for what COH would become.
01
The late Dr. John Green, former Assistant Surgeon General of the United States and Dean of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), School of Dentistry
02
Dr. Robert (Bob) Isman, former Dental Director of California
03
Dr. Ernest (Ernie) Newburn, an internationally recognized expert on fluoridation, an expert consultant to the FDA, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and the American Dental Association (ADA), a distinguish cardiologist, and a published author
04
Dr. Joel Boriskin, an avid community water fluoridation advocate who successfully led the campaign to fluoridate the East Bay Municipal Utility District
Revenue
To fulfill our goals, your support of COH goes a long way.
Grants
Contributions
Sustainable Practice
Program Services
Management & General
Expenses
We offer programs that help the underserved in CA.
What We Do
Dental Services
We offer oral health services at standalone clinics and through school-based programs in California. We help low income families, the elderly, the disabled, and more.
Oral Health Education
We teach the community about the importance of oral health and connect them with dental professionals. We also train dental and non-dental providers on preventive oral health services.
Oral Health Research
We conduct research and release reports documenting oral health care needs of vulnerable populations. We partner with other organizations to better understand oral health issues.
Oral Health Awareness
We provide policy and programmatic recommendations to improve the oral health of vulnerable populations. We also raise awareness with the public and legislators to achieve this goal.
Be a Champion of Oral Health
We can’t win the fight for oral health alone. If you want to partner with us in our vision, consider offering your time and resources to help those in need.
Careers
Are you interested in dentistry, research, or administrative positions? View our job openings.
Smile Drive
Help us raise awareness for children’s oral health and collect dental care supplies for kids.
Donate
Your financial contributions go a long way towards fulfilling our vision: Oral Health for All.
Contact Us
Do you have questions about our services or organization? Contact us and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
8am-6pm, M-F