Founded in 2015, The American Institute of Dental Public Health (AIDPH) has seen its share of changes in oral health policy—but now, we stand before a potential watershed moment.

Momentum is building for improving dental public health infrastructure. With each nominee in the US Presidential Election having sharply contrasting views on the Affordable Care Act, strategies for sustaining Medicare and Medicaid, and other key health policy issues, the outcomes from this year’s election cycle could dramatically alter the landscape of dental and whole-body public healthcare.

In the wake of these big-picture potential changes, AIDPH sat down with David Cappelli DMD, MPH, PhD, a Board of Directors member and cofounder of the organization, to take stock of our own history thus far, our accomplishments, and what he hopes the future of AIDPH may look like.

The First Sparks

Dr. Cappelli has led an extensive career in research, education, and service, and has held leadership roles in various public health organizations, including the American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD), the Nevada Advisory Committee for Oral Health, Future Smiles of Nevada, and the San Antonio Christian Dental Clinic, among others. His educational experience includes nearly 30 years of experience at the University of Texas Health Science Center.

Two programs he led in the role contributed to the conception of AIDPH.

At only 150 miles away from San Antonio, the border between the US and Mexico is highly fluid, highly rural, and highly strained in terms of public health resources. The border rotation program David oversaw, in which students learned about the challenges and opportunities of community health centers and public health infrastructure in the region, exposed him firsthand to the deep oral and public struggles of rural, often veteran, communities in the area.

In 2005, he also led a program that brought dental health residents at the university to Washington, DC to see how dental public health integrated into federal service infrastructure.

Catching Fire

Both of these programs at UT exposed glaring gaps in the state of dental public health in the US. However, David wanted to go bigger than having a state or local focus, and expand the program to a national scale.

With this mission in mind, he, along with a team that included Executive Director Annaliese Cothron, managed to secure two grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) totaling $3.75 million to create the American Institute of Dental Public Health.

“The idea behind AIDPH initially was to invigorate dental public health education, and to create national opportunities for individuals who are pursuing specialty training in dental public health: to meet, to gather, and to learn,” David said.

One way they accomplished this was through the Washington DC residency program, which is still going strong today as the Federal Service Immersion program, and through the border rotation program at the time.

The grant also included the creation of AIDPH’s annual Colloquium, which was designed to “look at unique areas of dental public health scholarship that weren’t traditionally being looked at,” David said. Our core focus groups emerged organically from discussions at these first Colloquia, and through this initial work.

A New Model

The HRSA grant lasted from 2015 to 2020. By the time the grant ended, David, along with other board members and staff, began to feel that AIDPH had blossomed beyond its initial focus on dental education to an integrated approach between advocacy and experiential learning.

“The grant gave a lot of opportunity for AIDPH to develop as an organization,” David said. “But with any grant, there are positives and negatives, and one of the limitations with HRSA grants is that you cannot use the money for advocacy or for lobbying in the federal service. And that was a very strong limitation of AIDPH through that initial five years.”

“It was nice to have that guarantee funds that allowed AIDPH to sort of grow and mature, but it also limited what AIDPH could do,” he said. “And so as it became a 501c3 nonprofit, AIDPH saw itself with a stronger mission towards advocating for underserved and underrepresented groups across the country.” He explained that our advocacy and educational initiatives are deeply intertwined.

One of the clearest examples of AIDPH’s focus on underrepresented groups is in its leadership in addressing the unique oral health needs of veterans. As David highlighted, “It really excites me, because I don’t think anyone else has really had that conversation until AIDPH started that conversation.” AIDPH brought national attention to this population, partnering with organizations like CareQuest Institute for Oral Health to drive these conversations forward. This focus on veterans, along with LGBTQIA+ people, rural communities, and people with disabilities, reflects AIDPH’s commitment to addressing gaps in dental public health discussions.“I think that’s where AIDPH shines,” he said.

Into the Future

When asked about the future of AIDPH, David’s vision for the organization is clear: “To grow, rather than sustain.” He emphasized opportunities for impactful partnerships with like-minded organizations, both within our core communities of focus and in the broader public health community.

AIDPH is poised to continue driving important conversations around oral health. Guided by leaders like David and the rest of our Board of Directors, our commitment to creating a more equitable oral healthcare landscape is stronger than ever. With a clear vision and mission, AIDPH is well-positioned to lead the charge in transforming the future of dental public health.

About

David Cappelli, DMD, MPH, PhD, a specialist in dental public health, worked in dental education for over 35 years. In that time, he taught both pre-doctoral and post-doctoral dental students, graduate and dental hygiene students. Throughout his career, he received numerous grants from federal and state government, industry and foundations, including a HRSA grant that served as the foundation for AIDPH. He was recognized for his work, receiving multiple awards from local, state and national organizations.