A report by The Colorado Health Institute (CHI) analyzing the oral health status of Coloradans. This report was commissioned to conduct an environmental scan of the state of oral health, oral health initiatives and oral health policy in Colorado.
CHI inventoried a comprehensive array of oral health initiatives, programs and dental safety net dental clinics. CHI highlighted policy considerations and identified possible policy and program options that public and private policymakers could pursue in true public-private partnership.
The oral health status of Coloradans has discernibly improved in recent years. Whether this is true for the vulnerable populations of the state is less clear. The visibility of oral health as a public health concern, however, has been clearly elevated in the public’s consciousness as a result of a variety of public and private funding and programmatic initiatives, particularly apparent since the late 1990s.