Updates from the Health Department’s Office of Oral Health – 6/9/2026
June 9, 2026
At the Health Department, we’re committed to health equity. Our vision is a Vermont where everyone has the chance to enjoy good health – and that includes good oral health. The Office of Oral Health (OOH) helps make this vision a reality by supporting community water fluoridation, school dental programs, and oral health surveillance.
The Office of Oral Health is also working to improve access to care, grow and support the dental workforce, connect medical and dental care, and strengthen systems that support oral health across the state.
Earn Free CE Credits with a Quick 802Quits Refresher
The 802Quits brief-intervention courses are a quick, practical way to strengthen your tobacco- and nicotine-cessation conversations in dental settings. These free courses reinforce the evidence-based Ask, Advise, Refer model and help you stay confident discussing tobacco use, vaping risks, and cessation benefits with patients.
You can receive CE credit again, even if you’ve taken an 802Quits course in a previous licensing period. Access the two dental-specific courses – Special Topics for Tobacco Cessation and Implementing a Brief Intervention for Tobacco in Clinical Settings – at quitlogixeducation.org/vermont under CDE Courses.
State and National Fluoridation Updates
The Office of Oral Health recently attended the Vermont Rural Water Association’s spring conference, where information about fluoridation was shared and the CDC’s Fluoridation Learning Online course was promoted with water operators.
The Office also attended the Green Mountain Water Environment Association’s spring conference and presented a CE course titled Community Water Fluoridation: Public Health Information for VT Water Operators. These conferences were valuable opportunities to connect with water operators and provide information about why fluoridation is important to public health.
Two national updates bode well for fluoridation. The first is the publication of a robust study showing no association between fluoridation levels in the United States and IQ. The second is that a federal appellate court vacated a landmark ruling that ordered the EPA to address health risks of fluoride in drinking water, stating that Judge Edward Chen erred in ruling that adding fluoride to water poses an “unreasonable risk” to children’s brain development.
Vermont Pediatric Dental Practice Featured in National Peer-Reviewed Publication
Dr. Jonny Norris, co-founder of Montshire Pediatric Dentistry, was an author on Implementing a Disease Management Standard Operating Procedure in a Contemporary Private Pediatric Dental Practice. Disease management techniques, such as silver diamine fluoride (SDF) and sealants, have emerged as alternatives to traditional restorative care.
The study describes the implementation of a disease management protocol in a large, multi-site private pediatric dental practice. It concluded that, based on patient volumes in the study, minimally invasive disease management techniques are generally an acceptable treatment philosophy for treating dental caries in a private practice setting.
Dr. Norris was also an author on Serving Rural Communities, Coping with Medicaid Cuts, and Having a Successful Practice: Case Studies from Oregon and Northern New England.
Health equity can only be achieved when public health, private practice, and our communities work together. Thank you for your continued partnership in advancing oral health for all Vermonters.
Robin Miller, RDH, MPH
Oral Health Director, Vermont Department of Health
Robin.n.miller@vermont.gov
