Planning and Evaluating Community Oral Health Programs

Community oral-health programs focus primarily on populations, including those who do not seek oral health care. Planning these programs should include involvement of the community, broadly defined to include individuals and organizations that represent those who can help design and implement it and those who could be affected by it. This article provides an overview of systematic approaches to planning and evaluating community oral health programs. Such approaches help ensure that stakeholders agree on the purpose of the program, work toward its success, and contribute toward its continuous improvement.