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Our Timeline

  • Successfully advocated for:

    • COMMUNITY WATER FLUORIDATION (HB 7287, Section 183)

      • ​Connecticut preserved and strengthened community water fluoridation - a proven and highly effective tool for preventing tooth decay and promoting health equity. 

    • AN ACT CONCERNING MEDICAID-COVERED DENTAL CARE (SB 1299)

      • ​Although SB 1299 did not cross the finish line, it received the significant support of over 20 legislative co-sponsors and numerous testimonies. With this proposal, preventative oral health services such as dental cleanings would be exempt from the $1,000 annual maximum benefit cap, and coverage would extend to include a second annual preventative cleaning and periodontal services for all enrolled adults. Uncertainty about the future of Medicaid made it challenging to predict whether this expansion would hold if significant federal cuts were enacted. 

  • COHI re-launched the Connecticut Oral Health Coalition and implemented the Community Champions Fellowship.

2025

  • Medicaid expanded in Connecticut's state budget to include coverage for treating periodontal disease for adults with certain chronic health conditions. 

2023

2024

  • Published report on HUSKY Dental Providers’ outcomes of increased Medicaid reimbursement rates

  • Published report on oral health care consumer barriers and identified policy changes for a more equitable system

  • Launched the Healthy Smiles, Healthy Lives campaign

  • Launched the L.E.A.D. Partner Program

Successfully advocated for

  • Public Act No. 21-149, allowing 19 to 26-year-olds to remain on their family’s dental insurance plans, helping thousands of young people in Connecticut maintain continuity of care

  • Dental Coverage included in the Covered CT program.

2021

2022

  • Secured a 25% increase in adult rates for all dental services and an additional increase for endodontic services (the first adult dental rate increase since 2008, effective July 1 2022)

  • Second annual cleaning authorized for adults on Medicaid who have certain medical conditions

  • Received American Rescue Plan Act funds in the State budget for oral health access and equity initiatives

  • Partial Restoration of Medicaid expansion for HUSKY A parents up to 160% of Federal Poverty Level

  • Dental Therapy authorized and COHI participated in Dental Therapy Workgroup, per enacted statute.

2019

2020

  • Added Licensed Dentists to the list of telehealth providers.

  • Cultural competency continuing education for dental hygienists statute enacted.

2017

2018

  • Enactment of Oral Health Assessments for school children. 

  • Expanded definition of public health settings for dental hygienists. 

  • Restoration of Medicaid expansion eligibility.

  • Oral health factors accepted as Core Areas of Emphasis in SIM Advanced Medical Home.

  • Oral health objectives accepted as 2016 priorities in Healthy CT 2020.

2015

2016

  • Oral Health integrated in the Community & Clinical Integration Plan and Quality Measures in Connecticut’s State Innovative Mode.

  • Community Water Fluoridation statue enacted with US HHS recommendation for optimal fluoride level in water.

2013

  • Child dental coverage embedded in the Qualified Health Plans of Access Health CT.

2008

  • Recruitment of dentists to provide dental services to HUSKY patients, after the settlement of a class action lawsuit (Carr vs. Wilson-Coker)

2005

  • Enactment of Oral Health Access Bill

  • Establishment of the State Office of Oral Public Health within the Department of Public Health.

  • Carr v. Wilson-Coker lawsuit settled to improving access to oral health care for children enrolled in HUSKY.

2003

  • COHI certified as a 501(c)(3) organization.

2002

  • COHI established and incorporated with funding from the Connecticut Health Foundation to further oral health issues through advocacy efforts.  

2001

  • COHI was founded in 2000-2001 as an outgrowth of a Connecticut State Dental Association committee.

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