Apple Tree Dental’s mission for overcoming barriers to oral health acknowledges the important role of clinical dental records in research investigations to generate evidence that will inform clinical and policy innovations to promote health equity. For over 38 years, Apple Tree Dental staff have emphasized a commitment to high-quality clinical charting to enable our dental record to be an unmatched resource for a variety of investigations. In addition to performing our own internal analysis to continuously improve our ability to provide the best care to the communities and unique patient populations who we serve, we have partnered with a number of research collaborators who share Apple Tree’s values to demonstrate the effectiveness of the innovations that our organization has pioneered.

In 2021, we were supported by the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health with a Research Infrastructure Grant to develop the resources and protocols to enable effective collaboration with external research partners. Apple Tree then created a Research Strategic Plan in 2023, for which the overall objective is to "Sustain and increase Apple Tree Dental's capacity to operate as a Learning Health System. Apply evidence and evaluation in engaging community partners in the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs and projects that support our advocacy for improving access to oral health and whole person care through integrated services in our Community Collaborative Practice Model."  We are grateful to our patients, staff, donors, funders and research partners for continuing to support Apple Tree Dental’s ability to be a source of high-quality clinical data to positively impact the dental profession and oral health equity for all.