Celebrating 10 Years!
AIDPH
Celebrating 10 Years:
Pursuing Oral Health Justice & Equity
This year marks AIDPH’s 10th anniversary—a milestone that gives us a chance to reflect on how far we’ve come and where we’re headed. We started in June 2015 as a project – with funding from the Health Resources & Services Administration to provide education and training for dental public health residents.
In 2017, we expanded our reach by launching the Colloquium, creating a space for collaboration and shared learning which we are continuing here today. By 2019, we took the next big step, becoming an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit, allowing us to fully shape our mission and impact. In 2021, we formalized our commitment to a community-engaged approach, ensuring that the voices of those most affected by oral health disparities guide our work.
OUR COMMITMENT
At the heart of everything we do is a commitment to the communities that need expanded access to oral health care. We believe that meaningful change happens when we invest in people—both by equipping oral health professionals with the tools to lead and advocate and by amplifying the voices of those most impacted by disparities. And here we are in 2025, celebrating 10 years of pursuing a justice-oriented oral health system—one where dignity, equity, and health are at the center. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, but more than that, we’re energized for what’s ahead.
EDUCATION
- Hosting the 5th cohort of our Federal Service Immersion program
- Started the first Dental Public Health Leadership Academy
- Facilitated community collaboratives on veteran oral health
- Developed advocacy training seminars & toolkit
- Convening our 8th Colloquium
- Trained advocacy fellows, interns, and student volunteers
- Launched Rural Oral Health ECHO
RESEARCH
- AIDPH adopted a community engaged research model in 2021
- 25 self-published and peer-reviewed manuscripts
- Over 50 webinars and scientific presentations at national conferences
- VetDentalData.org – a repository for veteran research
- 15 research interns and fellows
- Thank you to the research partners, collaborators, and funders!
ADVOCACY
- Hosted a veteran oral health hill day and elevated veteran dental care in national policy
- Provided testimony for Senate HELP Committee
- Visited nearly half the states on our veteran oral health road tour
- Advocate for queer inclusion in education and clinical care
- Join rural and Indigenous advocacy efforts nationally
SUPPORT OUR WORK
Testimonials
What people are saying about AIDPH
Being a part of the AIDPH Academy and the Dental Public Health Learning Academy has improved my confidence and effiiciency as an early career dental public health professional has improved my confidence and efficiency as an early career dental public health professional. I actively apply the concepts taught in the course in my job.
As a member of the inaugural cohort in the AIDPH Dental Public Health Leadership Academy (DPHLA), my experience has been invaluable in shaping my career in public health leadership and as an Associate Professor in Dental Public Health. It provided essential networking opportunities, mentorship, and practical skills that enhanced my ability to address health disparities both in my teaching and research. The collaborative environment fostered by DPHLA deepened my understanding of leadership, policy development and effective community engagement, all of which I’ve been able to integrate as the sole attending of the teledentistry program at my dental institution. Happy 10th Anniversary AIDPH! Here’s to many more years of impactful work and collaboration!”
T. Wilson, DDS, MPH, FICD