Oral Health Champion Awards

Oral Health Champion Awardees are selected by the Board, upon recommendation of the Conference Committee, based on significant state-level work on oral health policy and contributing to improving Missouri's oral health or contributing to making oral health and oral health policy a priority for policy-makers and the Missouri public.

Carol Berger, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, MSN, BA has been a Family Practice Nurse Practitioner since 2009. She has worked in the acute care environment for 12 years and in a rural health clinic in Missouri for 7 years. She has taught at the master’s level in nursing school since 2017.  Courses she has taught include advanced pathophysiology, advanced pharmacology, health promotions and leadership. Her dissertation involved Instituting an Oral Health Preventive Service Program, including Fluoride Varnish for Preschool Children Birth to Five Years in a Rural Health clinic. She has been published twice in The Nurse Practitioner: Berger,C., Tokac, U., Fish, A.F., Dane,J.N. (2020) Implementation Science: Changing practice in oral health: 45 (7);27-34 and Berger,C., Bachman, J., Casalone, G.G., Farberman, S., Fish,  A. ( 2014) An Oral Health Program for children: 39(2) 48-53. Most recently she has made a documentary Rural Children in Crisis: Access to Missouri Oral Care with the help of Scott Angus, Lilli Kayes and Carl Leta in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Oral Health.  She has been published in the UMSL magazine and Maryville Magazine as well as made an appearance on the podcast ST. Louis NPR to bring to light dental care disparities in rural Missouri and advocate that medical care providers need to partner with dental health to make a difference in a child’s smile.  She has also instituted the Healthy Smiles curriculum into the Maryville nurse practitioner program educating hundreds of students and soon to be nurse practitioners about this important subject.

Delta Dental of Missouri is the state’s leading dental benefits provider and a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, driven by its mission to improve oral health in the communities it proudly serves. It provides more than 2.1 million members with access to affordable, high-quality dental care through group plans tailored to meet the needs of organizations of all sizes, from large corporations to small businesses. Delta Dental also offers dental benefit plans directly to individuals and families. It provides access to affordable, high-quality vision care as well through group vision benefit plans. The company proudly supports oral health initiatives, educational programs and charitable causes that help educate people about the importance of dental health and provide free dental care to those in need. Delta Dental of Missouri also created the Missouri Dental Care Resource Guide to help individuals access information about low-cost and free dental care options in their area—available online at www.DeltaDentalMO.com/ResourceGuide1. To learn more about the company, visit www.DeltaDentalMO.com.