The Maine Dental Connection mobilizes and connects the state’s existing network of oral health care providers to increase access to care by:

• Bringing oral health care into community settings where children already spend their days.
• Employing the best scientific practices to keep patients healthy in the community. 
• Encouraging patients’ adoption of mouth healthy habits using behavior-change science.
• Building coordinated, collaborative oral health teams, using tools such as teledentistry, to connect patients with the full continuum of care.

A new Maine Dental Connection storybook: "The Night Before the Virtual Dentist" - a first-of-its-kind children's book that tells the story of community-integrated care. Follow this link for a read-aloud available in 7 languages!

The Maine Dental Connection initiative is an evolution of the virtual dental home (VDH) model first implemented in California in 2010 by Dr. Paul Glassman and his team. VDH is an oral health care delivery system in which diagnostic, preventive care and early intervention are delivered by a dental hygiene team in a community setting, connecting with a dentist for exams, treatment planning, and any restorative or specialist care that cannot be delivered in the community setting. This model, when fully implemented, can keep over 80% of pediatric patients healthy in the community setting and minimizes trips to the dental office.