The California Oral Health Program (OHP) was established in July 2014.  Prior to 2014, the OHP was known as the Oral Health Unit and the Office of Oral Health. The program’s mission is to improve the oral health of all Californians through prevention, education, and organized community efforts.  To achieve these goals, the OHP is providing strategic advice and leadership to oral health stakeholders throughout the state, building oral health workforce capacity and infrastructure, and implementing and evaluating evidence-based best practices in oral disease prevention. Initial steps to build capacity and address the burden of oral disease are to develop a state burden report, a state oral health plan, and an oral health surveillance plan.  The state plan will serve as a roadmap to identify priorities, short term, intermediate, and long term goals and objectives along with recommendations to address the burden of disease, increase access to oral health services for high risk populations, and to increase the oral health status of all Californians.

Funding for the OHP is provided by the State General Fund, the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant, and the Health Resources and Services Administration.