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NADP Foundation Continues to Improve Oral Health and Strengthen the Administration of Oral Health Services

By Mike Adelberg, NADP Executive Director

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is the work I do with the NADP Foundation. Revived in 2024, the mission of the NADP Foundation is to promote research and education initiatives that improve the oral health of the population through access to and the administration of oral health services. I have blogged about the Foundation and its important work previously, here and here.

I am happy to announce that the Foundation’s 2026 grantees are Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, University of New Haven, The Children’s Oral Health Network of Maine (COHN), and University of Pikeville. A little bit about each of them is below.

Columbia University College of Dental Medicine will lead The AHEAD Project, which will create and deliver training for dental students focused on insurance, benefits, coding, and billing. The program will be piloted with 100 third-year dental students and evaluated by its impact on participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and confidence navigating dental benefits systems. The final product will be made available nationally.

University of Pikeville will investigate why children in Central Appalachia who have dental benefits continue to face significant barriers to care. The project will pilot teledentistry as an innovative solution and generate evidence-based recommendations to improve benefit utilization, oral health outcomes, and oral health policies.

Children’s Oral Health Network of Maine will implement self-paced, online training modules and family interventions developed through its Cavity Free Futures project. The organization also will develop a financial simulation tool and business case analysis to demonstrate the sustainability of dental billing across both public and private insurance programs. This work will strengthen provider participation and improve long-term access to care for children and families. This year’s grant builds on the Foundation’s 2025 grant that first established Cavity Free Futures.

University of New Haven will implement a digital patient intake system and on-demand interpretation services in a community dental clinic, improving communication and access for vulnerable populations. The project will also train more than 100 students annually and generate research to inform scalable models for academic and safety-net dental clinics nationwide.

The 2026 grants proceed the excellent work of our 2025 grantees—Rady Children’s Hospital, Charm Economics, and COHN. You can read about the 2025 grantees here.

These projects are particularly important because of their impact on patients’ and providers’ understanding of dental benefits and on improved access to oral health care. The work of our 2026 grantees not only will help people get the oral healthcare they need to stay healthy, they also will shed light on the importance of dental benefits, heightening the visibility and credibility of our industry.

The NADP Foundation does not have an endowment. The Foundation can only continue its work with the continued support of companies and individuals who believe in its mission and work. Please consider a tax-deductible donation via the Foundation’s website or through your annual NADP dues invoice.

Thank you for supporting work that helps people, communities, and our industry.

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