Colleen Stephenson RDH-ER, MS

As the self-proclaimed Kevin Bacon of Idaho (Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon), Colleen Stephenson was an ideal choice to represent Idaho in the national 100 Million Mouths Campaign (100MMC). Her vast connections across the state are essential to laying the groundwork for a statewide standard of preventive, whole-person care for children. She also partners with the Idaho Oral Health Alliance and its Healthy Me is Cavity Free collaborative to recruit and train professionals across all health disciplines to monitor children’s oral health as a component of primary care. Together, this work aims to establish a well-child model supported by multiple touch points to identify dental issues early, and a statewide referral system that enables natural handoffs to a dental home for ongoing access to oral health care. 

100MMC was created within Harvard University’s Center for Integration of Primary Care and Oral Health. It is a program to train 50 oral-health education champions, one in each state, over the next decade. Each champion will work with local health profession schools to integrate oral health evaluation into the curricula as a standard triage step.

In her role as clinical associate professor at Idaho State University, Stephenson educates future hygienists on the importance of local community care. Each student creates, implements and evaluates a population-specific oral health program of their choosing, such as incarcerated women. Students learn how to propose and deploy a program, graduating with the knowledge to engage the right people and systems to make a difference.  

With a focus on health equity for children and adults on Medicaid in Idaho, Stephenson prioritizes education for students, providers, policymakers and the public.