WV Oral Health Coalition

11/13/2025

Yesterday, Dr. Jason Roush, Tiffany Summerlin, and Gina Sharps had the opportunity to present “Building the Bridge Between Rural and Oral Health Care” at this year’s 2025 WV Rural Health Association annual conference.
A special thank you to the West Virginia Rural Health Association and the planning committee for hosting an amazing event!
Well Done 👏

10/13/2025

Smile, It’s National Dental Hygiene Month!
An enthusiastic thank you to all those dental hygienists out there.
Your dedication is appreciated and deeply valued 🌟🦷🌟

09/22/2025

Thank you WVU School of Dentistry WVU SADHA for your support of this years 2025 WV Oral Health Summit.
Student engagement will always be a priority and a partnership the WVOHC greatly values.
Thank you for the excellent article,

When dental professionals from across the state gathered for the annual West Virginia Oral Health Summit, students from the West Virginia University School of Dentistry were on hand to facilitate breakout sessions covering important topics for improved oral health.

09/19/2025

Great message going into Fall 🍁

09/06/2025

On behalf of the WV Oral Health Coalition a very special thank you to each vendor, funder, member, and colleague that came together yesterday for a beautiful day of learning at the 2025 WV Oral Health Summit!

The team at Bridgeport Conference Center were exceptional (a special thank you to Dee and Aimee fo going above and beyond).

In addition, an enthusiastic thank you to Amber Auger and the Hu-Friedy Group for providing an exemplary opening session, WVU School of Dentistry Dental Hygiene student leadership for moderating the breakout sessions,
Kim Lowe and Becky Erwin for an exceptional training program for Expanded Restorative Dental Assistants, and Smile Express for guided tours.

Be sure to keep watch for a save the date for the 2026 WV Oral Health Summit and until then, please enjoy a few fun snaps from this years event.

08/08/2025

Dental friends!
28 days and counting until this years 2025 WV Oral Health Summit.
Registration is open and we’re saving a seat for you!
QR code to access registration is on the flyer below or you can register via www.wvohc.org/2025-wv-oral-health-summit

Looking forward to seeing you next month!

07/23/2025

Excellent and timely resource!

06/19/2025

It’s Go Time for the 2025 West Virginia Oral Health Summit!

Registration is now open and we look forward to seeing you on 9/5/2025 at the Bridgeport Conference Center in Bridgeport, WV.

Registration can be accessed here , https://www.wvohc.org/2025-wv-oral-health-summit or by the QR code below.
Note: If you or your organization is interested in sponsoring this year's summit, please click on the purple "Become a Sponsor Here" button.

The registration fee for this year's conference is $75.00 and will cover the cost of processing CE credits and food. The $75.00 registration fee can be paid by check or via the secured Stripe portal.

Plenary and Breakout Sessions are listed below. Participants can earn up to 7 CEUs at this year's summit.

Plenary Sessions
1. Power Up Your Protocols: Technologies & Techniques for Next-Level Care
Amber Auger, MPH, RDH
Motivational Speaker | Practicing RDH | Author | Founder of Thrive in the Op® and The Functional RDH® Career Coach | Product Reviewer | Dental Marketing Strategist
Sponsored by the HuFriedy Group
2. Federal Policy and Oral Health: What’s New and Upcoming
Ian Hedges, Director, Medicaid and Medicare Program Policy
Center of Excellence in Dental Care and Financing
American Dental Association

3. Exploring Coverage of Meaningful Dentistry Across West Virginia
Dr. Shyama Mahakalanda, WVU Health Affairs Institute
*Funded by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation

Breakout Sessions
1. CATCH My Breath: A Rapid Response to the Youth Va**ng Epidemic
2. Improving Dental Care Access for Vulnerable Populations
3. Expanded Duties for the Restorative Dental Assistant (*This session is especially created for Dental Assistants eligible for expanded duties training).
4. HPV, HPV Vaccination, and My Dental Office: What’s the Connection?

Thanks again for your continued support of the WV Oral Health Summit and we look forward to seeing you at Bridgeport Conference Center on September 5, 2025!

QR Code to Register

06/18/2025

Who knew?!

Mount Etna, an active volcano located on the east coast of Sicily near the city of Catania, releases on average over 200 tons of gaseous hydrogen fluoride every day. That makes it the largest single source of fluoride to air in the entire world. Mount Etna emits far more fluoride to air than any factory or mining operation. In fact, Mount Etna’s fluoride emissions are larger than the whole of Western Europe’s entire anthropogenic emission of fluoride added together from all industrial operations. That’s pretty powerful for one volcano!

06/13/2025

Thank you West Virginia Primary Care Association - WVPCA for the opportunity to share Advances and Challenges in Oral Health at yesterday’s conference. The WVOHC would also like to extend our gratitude to Merinda Birkett, RDH with Coplin Health Systems for co-presenting!
For more information on children’s oral health, and to view the WV Children’s Oral Health Report Card, visit www.wvohc.org

06/10/2025

A legend indeed! A most sincere thank you to Dr. Bouquot for his amazing and selfless contributions 🦷
The West Virginia Oral Health Coalition enthusiastically applauds his latest achievement 👏

In recognition of his profound influence on oral and maxillofacial sciences, Dr. Jerry Bouquot was recently honored by Oral Pathology 360 during its International Oral Diseases Case Presentation Conference, held this year in Chennai, India.

05/27/2025

Congratulations to WVOHC Board of Directors member, Marcia Brand
Dr. Brand was honored this week by the National Rural Health Association for her efforts and commitment in improving rural health. Way to go Marcia!

Congratulations to NRHA’s Rural Health Award winners, who were honored during NRHA’s 48th Annual Rural Health Conference last week in Atlanta! Learn more about the winners and check out their videos in our updated blog: https://www.ruralhealth.us/blogs/2025/04/nrha-announces-2025-rural-health-award-recipients