Healthy Smiles for Healthy Aging

A Program Designed to Help Older Adults Thrive in Oral Health Care

As we age, maintaining good oral health can become more challenging - and yet, more important than ever. Untreated dental problems can affect a person’s ability to eat, speak, and connect with others, and can even contribute to broader health concerns and diminished quality of life. But too many older adults face barriers to the dental care, information, and support they need to maintain a healthy smile. That's why COHI developed the Healthy Smiles for Healthy Aging program.

Healthy Smiles for Healthy Aging is a comprehensive oral health program designed to meet the unique needs of older adults in our community. The program centers on an Oral Health for Older Adults Workshop paired with resource navigation to connect participants with local dental care options, complemented by oral health kits and take-home materials that reinforce healthy habits beyond the session. To extend the program's reach, we equip caregivers and staff with education on best practices and provide dedicated staff training, alongside a partner toolkit that enables community organizations to continue supporting older adults long after our direct involvement ends.

With sufficient funding, the program can be further strengthened by an oral health screening event, offering participants a direct pathway to identifying and addressing dental health needs.

Key Goals

We want older adults to come away from our program sessions with action items that they can implement right away - and feel empowered about - to improve their oral health. Key program goals include:

Build older adults' confidence in daily oral hygiene habits

Address concerns that many older adults may have such as gum disease, dry mouth, dentures, medications

Connect oral health to overall health (heart disease, diabetes, nutrition)

Encourage regular dental visits and remove access barriers

What to Expect at a HSFHA Session

A Comprehensive, Community Approach to Older Adult Oral Health

Healthy Smiles for Healthy Aging is more than a workshop; it's a collective community health movement. Our vision is to build a community-based oral health education program designed to help older adults maintain their oral health, improve their quality of life, and better understand the connection between oral health and overall well-being.

The program provides education and training for older adults, caregivers, and the professionals who support them, while also giving community organizations the tools to make oral health education part of their ongoing work. Through interactive workshops, staff trainings, a comprehensive toolkit, and evidence-informed best practices, Healthy Smiles for Healthy Aging makes it easier for organizations to bring meaningful oral health education directly to the communities they serve.

We are building a network of community partners committed to making oral health a part of healthy

aging. Whether an organization hosts a training, uses our toolkit to provide its own education, or helps

expand the program to new communities, every partner plays a role in creating a future where older

adults have the knowledge, resources, and support they need to maintain a healthy smile.

Healthy Smiles for Healthy Aging includes:

"Oral Health for Older Adults" Workshop with interactive elements and actionable takeaways
Resource Navigation
Oral Health Kits
Take-home oral health materials
Caregiver/staff education best practices
Staff training
Comprehensive partner toolkit to continue assisting their older adult community
Oral Health screening event to provide services to older adults (possible depending on funding)

Help Expand Our Reach

Together, we’re making oral health part of healthy aging.

Looking to bring oral health education to the older adults you serve? Interested in investing to help us expand this work? We would love to hear from you!

Organizations and community partners can reach out to COHI to schedule a training, explore our toolkit and best practices, or learn how to incorporate the program into their existing services. Funders and philanthropic partners are invited to help us expand the program, equip more organizations with resources, and reach more older adults across Connecticut.