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Mary Kelly, MS, RDH, CDP

Mary Kelly, LLC Oral Health Connections
Des Moines, Iowa

Mary Kelly, an oral health advocate with 30 years of dental public health experience and 40 years of ADHA membership, has a MS in Dental Public Health from the University of Iowa’s College of Dentistry and a BS in Dental Hygiene from Loyola University of Chicago. Mary has contributed to the profession in all the roles of a dental hygienist on local, state, and national levels.
Mary’s clinical experience ranges from traditional dental practice to dental care in nursing facilities and elementary schools. Thirty years ago, she established Oral Health Connections, educating professionals and the community on the importance of oral care for overall health. Her research roles include SDF and FL varnish and oral care education for community-dwelling people with dementia.
Mary served on the Iowa Dental Board, contributing to significant practice changes: allowing an RDH to own a dental practice, removing statutory restrictions on where an RDH may practice, and allowing SDF applications under public health supervision.
Recently, Mary administered a Refugee and Dental Access pilot project to coordinate dental care for nearly 700 Afghan refugees in safety dental clinics in central Iowa.
Mary currently oversees a statewide dementia prevention program and is a professional educator for Waterpik.

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