Democratizing data to advance oral health equity across Colorado
Reliable data are a powerful tool for change, but only when they are accessible. Across Colorado, community leaders, advocates, and decision‑makers rely on timely information to identify gaps in care, understand lived experiences, and design solutions that improve oral health. To support this work, Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation (DDCOF) is excited to share an update to the Colorado Oral Health Data Dashboard, now enhanced with new data from the 2025 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS).
👉 Explore the dashboard:
https://deltadentalcofoundation.org/resources/data/
This latest update ensures the dashboard continues to reflect the evolving oral health landscape in Colorado, equipping communities with current, credible data to guide planning, investment, and action.
If you’d like some high-level highlights from the survey data, but don’t have specific data points in mind, the 2026 Oral Health Fact Sheet offers a narrative summary accompanied by statistical visuals.
What Is the Colorado Oral Health Data Dashboard?
The Colorado Oral Health Data Dashboard, built for DDCOF by our partners at the Colorado Health Institute, is an interactive, user‑friendly platform that centralizes oral health data in one place.
The dashboard is powered by the Colorado Health Access Survey, Colorado’s premier source of information on:
- Health coverage
- Access to care
- Affordability and barriers
- Factors that influence health and well‑being
Within the dashboard, users can explore data related to:
- Oral health outcomes
- Access to and utilization of dental care
- Cost and other barriers to care
- Experiences with culturally responsive care
Data can be viewed by age, race and ethnicity, insurance status, rurality, and family income, and are available at the county and regional level. Users can also explore trends over time, with biennial data spanning 2013 through 2025.
What’s New With the 2025 CHAS Update?
The addition of 2025 CHAS data ensures the dashboard reflects the most current picture of oral health access and experiences in Colorado.
With this update, users can:
- Examine recent shifts in access to dental care
- Identify persistent and emerging disparities
- Compare outcomes before and after recent policy or program changes
- Ground funding requests, strategic plans, and advocacy efforts in up‑to‑date, Colorado‑specific data
As always, charts and tables can be downloaded for use in reports and presentations, and users can generate regional one‑pagers or maps to support local planning.
Turning Data into Action: What Can You Learn?
The power of the dashboard lies not just in the data but in how the data can be used to inform action. Here are a few examples of questions the dashboard can help answer:
A Community-Based Example
A community health organization serving families along Colorado’s Front Range wants to better understand why adults in their service area are delaying or skipping dental care. Using the dashboard, the organization can filter data by region, insurance status, and income level to examine reported barriers such as cost, lack of coverage, or difficulty finding a dentist.
By visualizing these trends, the organization can:
- Identify which barriers are most common among the populations they serve
- Strengthen grant applications with localized, data‑backed insights
- Tailor outreach efforts or partnerships to address the most pressing needs
This type of analysis helps ensure programs and resources are aligned with real community experiences—maximizing impact and advancing oral health equity.
Identifying Disparities in Preventive Care
A public health agency can compare preventive dental visit rates across racial and ethnic groups to identify populations that may benefit from targeted outreach, education, or culturally responsive care models.
Informing Policy and Funding Decisions
Advocates and policymakers can use county‑level data to understand where access gaps are greatest, helping guide investments in workforce, infrastructure, or community‑based oral health programs.
By making these insights accessible, the dashboard supports data‑informed decisions that reflect the lived experiences of Coloradans.
Advancing Oral Health Equity Through Access to Data
We will achieve oral health equity in Colorado when people, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or place of residence, have access to oral health education, preventive care, and restorative services when they need them.
Democratizing oral health data is a critical foundation for this work. By making high‑quality, actionable data available to all, the Colorado Oral Health Data Dashboard empowers communities to identify needs, advocate for change, and design solutions rooted in evidence.
We extend our sincere thanks to the Colorado Health Institute for their continued partnership and leadership. Their stewardship of the Colorado Health Access Survey, commitment to high‑quality data, and expertise in building the Colorado Oral Health Data Dashboard on our behalf make this resource possible. Through this collaboration, we can ensure that timely, credible, and actionable oral health data remain accessible to communities across Colorado.
We invite you to explore the updated dashboard and use these data to support your work—because when communities have access to information, they are better equipped to drive lasting change.