Take Action NOW to defend critical dental benefits

On Thursday, Governor Newsom released the 2021-2021 May Revision to the Governor’s Budget, proposing to reduce adult dental benefits down to 2014 levels. A partial reduction in adult dental benefits will have long-term, negative consequences on overall health and access to services.

The California Oral Health Progress and Equity Network (CA-OPEN) is committed to defending critical dental benefits, even as legislators race toward a June 15 deadline to enact a budget.

We submitted a sign-on letter to the State Legislature on May 26th 2020. To see the final letter,click here.

Call to Action: Increase Funding for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Oral Health

The Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) and the American Association of Oral Health Coalitions (ANOHC) are leading an initiative to coordinate efforts to educate policy makers about the need to increase funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Oral Health (DOH) so that all State Oral Health Programs can be funded by the CDC DOH.

ASTDD and ANOHC have developed a “call for action” template for advocates to formally endorse the initiative. The call to action explains the current state of funding for the CDC DOH and the need for additional funding. Having multiple national, state, county, and community organizations endorsing and using the paper will increase its impact when shared with policy makers.

After reviewing the letter, click HERE indicate your organization’s willingness by Thursday, July 18th 2019 to endorse the call to action.

If you have any questions or follow-up, contact Christine Wood, Executive Director of the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors at cwood@astdd.org or Tanya Dorf-Brunner, Chair of the American Network of Oral Health Coalitions at tdorf@oralhealthkansas.org.