A Message from the ASTDD Best Practices Committee

To Funders and Insurers:

The Best Practices Committee invites funders and insures to explore the ASTDD Best Practices Web site (www.astdd.org) . The information and resources available are provided to guide users seeking effective public health strategies for the promotion and improvement of oral health and oral health care services. The Web site is organized in a manner consistent with the three core public health principles of assessment, assurance, and policy development. Program designs, implementation strategies and evaluation components are included for state and local initiatives as well as demonstration projects.

The Best Practice Approaches are defined as public health strategies, which yield impact and effectiveness based upon evidence demonstrated through research, expert opinion, field lessons and/or theoretical rationale. Each Best Practice Approach provides the reader with a full description of a program/intervention, guidelines and recommendations from authoritative sources, research evidence, and state practice examples. Each Best Practice Approach also lists criteria, which serves to provide initial review standards on program impact and effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and collaboration.

Funders and insurers may gain insight through the Best Practices Web site when supporting or considering support for state and community based dental public health programs. Users may benefit by having the opportunity to investigate practice designs and observing through State Practice Examples those experiences and implementation strategies which states and communities have found to be successful. Contact information is also provided by each contributor to the website for program inquiries.