This year KOHC members and advocates convened for the 2025 KOHC December Annual Meeting on Friday, December 12th at the University of Louisville. Some attendees arrived early to begin the day with a tour led by Paige Moore, Director of Communications and Marketing at University of Louisville School of Dentistry. 
The meeting kicked off with an expert panel discussion facilitated by Alicia Whatley, Senior Policy and Advocacy Director with Kentucky Youth Advocates. Panelists included Matt Steele from Carequest Institute for Oral Health, Jennifer Harrison from the Kentucky Dental Hygiene Association, and Dr. Steve Robertson from the Kentucky Dental Association. The discussion centered around the changing landscape and what it means for oral health. The panel shared national, state, and clinical perspectives and encouraged oral health advocates to work together to engage on policy. 

Angie Garman with Norton Children’s Prevention and Wellness then shared her experiences and suggestions for ways to integrate prevention and wellness strategies with oral health and medical providers. Highlights included information about a successful dental home referrals pilot program for pediatric offices, as well as opportunities to directly address patient safety, wellness, and food insecurity. 

After a break for lunch, participants heard updates from dental education programs across the state regarding workforce development. Dr. Justin Whitney, Lavina Myer, and Adam Hall from the University of Louisville School of Dentistry (ULSD) as well as their dental hygiene program, presented information about ULSD’s accredited programs along with their excellent training and research facilities and community-centered clinics. Dr. Shanna Burress from Murray State University provided updates on the development of a new dental hygiene program with the goal of accepting students in Fall 2026. Dr. Jill Keaton from the University of Pikeville Tanner College of Dental Medicine shared information about the new state-of-the-art facilities, working closely with Appalachian community partners, and that they are on track to admit an initial cohort of 50 students in June 2026. Dr. Pam Stein with the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry presented about their Pathways to Dentistry, beginning with opportunities for middle-schoolers to shadow a private practice, followed in high school and university with mentorships and research opportunities, and continuing into dental school with a Rural Dentistry Track with support for loan repayments, externships, and community engagement.

Next Dr. McKee, Kentucky State Dental Director provided updates about the development of a new State Oral Health Plan. At a planning meeting in September, participants self-selected to discuss strategies for 4 different areas: access to care, workforce, prevention, and policy. Among the multiple ideas floated for inclusion in the Plan were: growing the PHRDH program to work in 8 additional counties by 2031, modernizing the Medicaid system to work better for patients and dentists, and protecting community water fluoridation. Opportunities provided by the Rural Health Transformation Program were also discussed for inclusion, including the expansion of associate dental hygiene programs, teledentistry hubs for all 3 dental schools, and specialized training for emergency room staff to handle non-traumatic oral pain presentation. 

Courtney Brown, Dr. Luciana Shaddox, and Dr. Pam Stein, all from University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, shared their development of a project to create an Oral Health Vulnerability Index. They also plan to gather and analyze data using a social network analysis to understand how positive outlier communities are successfully navigating barriers to access to oral healthcare. Meeting participants gathered into workgroups to provide feedback and ideas for the process.

Alicia Whatley rounded out the meeting with facilitation of group discussion on KOHC priorities and member voting. Members voted for 2026 KOHC Policy Priorities.

Thank you to all who attended December’s annual meeting, and to our Signature Sponsors CareQuest Institute for Oral Health and Aetna Better Health of Kentucky and to our Partner Sponsor and host University of Louisville School of Dentistry. 

Meeting slides can be found here.