Join us and help Colorado kids become

Cavity Free At Three

"Dentists play a critical role in assuring a healthy start for all Children in our state. Through our collective efforts, in our dental offices and in our communities, we can prevent dental disease and assure that the next generation of Colorado children grow up with healthy smiles."

— Quinn Dufurrena, DDS, JD

"The leading chronic disease for children in Colorado is dental disease. This results in lost days from school, pain, infections, behavioral problems, failure to thrive and high health care costs. With Colorado’s Oral Health Winnable Battle, we want to significantly improve children’s oral health outcomes. It’s a battle worth fighting and one that we can win."

— Chris Urbina, MD, MPH

"Cavity Free at Three is working to increase access to care for children early in life, especially those most at risk for dental disease. It is also working to improve the effectiveness with which we, as healthcare providers, educate families about oral disease prevention. I hope all medical and dental providers who serve children will get involved. It’s up to us to lend our time and our talents to help all kids start out life healthy."

— Katya Mauritson, DMD

"Oral health is one of the top 10 winnable battles in health for Colorado. To 'win' we need everyone who touches the lives of children to work toward the goal of making all of Colorado’s kids Cavity Free at Three and orally healthy throughout the rest of their lives. Please join us in working to achieve this important and worthy goal."

— John Hickenlooper, Governor, State of Colorado

Causes of deteriorating dental health among low-income children can be attributed to a lack of access to proven preventive measures, including sealants and fluoridation; too few dentists willing to treat Medicaid-enrolled children; and in some communities simply not enough dentists to provide care. Cavity Free at Three works to address these problems by integrating prevention into well child care and expanding access to care for those most in need.

Kids who do not receive appropriate dental care are more likely to miss school days and fall behind academically. To prevent this, families should establish a dental home for their child by age one and start preventive care early in life.

Our Cause

The mission of Cavity Free at Three is to eliminate early childhood caries in Colorado’s children, helping them to grow up free of dental disease. To do so, the project is working to:

Improve access to preventive dental care for children especially those most at risk for dental disease;
Increase the number of children with dental homes starting at age one;
Grow the Medicaid dental provider network in Colorado as a means for improving access to care;
Engage primary care physicians and public health practitioners, to partner with dental providers, in preventing oral disease in children;
Enhance parental knowledge about the importance of oral health care for their children;
And, improve Colorado’s health policies so that oral health can be achieved by all children.

Cavity Free at Three began in 2007 as a training program for health care providers. It seeks to teach providers how to improve their outreach, education and service delivery to families with the goal of preventing dental disease early in life. We are committed to truly preventing oral disease in children thus ensuring that the next generation grows up with healthy mouths and bodies.

How you can participate

Cavity Free at Three is designed to help you, the healthcare provider, have all of the resources and support that you need to join our statewide efforts to improve the oral health outcomes for Colorado’s kids. This is a free service funded by six Colorado health foundations and in partnership with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. Explore this site to see all of the free resources that are available to you including:

On-site training, in the Cavity Free at Three program, for you and your staff.
Downloadable parent education materials.
Business planning for incorporating young children and/or Medicaid into your practice.
Educational resources about early childhood caries for medical and dental providers.
Technical assistance for becoming a Medicaid provider.

For questions, please call Karen Savoie, Director, Cavity Free at Three at 303-724-4750.