Oral Health Advocacy Toolkit

Resources to help you advocate for the care you, your family, and your community deserve.

Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease of childhood in the United States. The current oral health care system isn’t working for far too many kids and adults. Despite efforts to change policy at the state level to improve access, the problem remains, and isn’t likely to change unless people in communities organize and demand a better system.

This guide for parents is meant to support advocacy for better oral health care at the individual, community, and state level. It contains information to empower parents to ask questions about the care provided to their children and to push for more dentists to adopt a standard of care that centers patients, not profits. Plus, we’ve provided information about how to push for changes in schools, in primary care practices, and at the state level.  

This guide was developed together with community oral health action teams in Burlington and Brattleboro. We are grateful for the partnership of the Janet S. Munt Family Room and the Ethiopian Community Development Council in this project.

A man with short gray hair stands behind a young boy who is brusing his teeth at the bathroom sink.
Oral Health Advocacy at Home
An image of a woman with shoulder length brown hair talking with a group of people.
Oral Health Advocacy in Your Community
An image of a dentist chair
Oral Health Advocacy at the Dentist
An image of a glass ball ornament with a painted image of the Vermont State House
State & Federal Oral Health Advocacy

Tell Your Story

Lack of access to timely, affordable, quality oral health care creates a ripple effect across Vermonters’ lives, from overall health and well-being, to student learning, employment, and relationships. Telling your story helps policymakers understand the seriousness of the issue and creates pressure for change.