CareQuest Institute for Oral Health has appointed An Nguyen, DDS, MPH, as its new Chief Clinical Officer, the Boston-based nonprofit announced today. Dr. Nguyen comes to the role after more than fifteen years at Clinica Family Health and Wellness in Colorado, where she served as Chief Dental Officer since 2010.
In her new role, Dr. Nguyen will sit on CareQuest Institute's executive leadership team and work directly with CEO Wade Rakes to shape clinical strategy, lead enterprise-wide initiatives, and advance the organization's mission of building a more accessible, equitable, and integrated oral health system.
Her appointment signals a continued organizational emphasis on medical-dental integration. At Clinica Family Health and Wellness — a federally qualified health center model — Dr. Nguyen built interdisciplinary care models serving tens of thousands of patients and applied oral health interventions to broader chronic disease management, an approach that mirrors the direction CareQuest Institute has been pushing at the national level.
"I have a deep, personal connection to marginalized communities that navigate systems not built for them," Dr. Nguyen said in the announcement. "CareQuest Institute has long driven bold, inclusive change in oral health systems, and I'm honored to join the team's efforts."
CEO Wade Rakes called Dr. Nguyen "a highly respected leader whose work spans clinical practice, public health, and systems transformation," adding that she will play a central role in driving innovation and expanding access to care nationwide.
Dr. Nguyen brings significant national credentialing to the position. She is Immediate Past President of the National Network for Oral Health Access, Chair-Elect of the Dental Quality Alliance, and was appointed by Colorado's governor to the state's Department of Health Care Policy and Financing Medical Services Board. She holds active roles in the American Association of Public Health Dentistry, the American Dental Association, and the National Association of Community Health Centers.
Her academic credentials include a DDS from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Public Health in community health and behavioral science from Saint Louis University.
The appointment adds a prominent clinical voice to CareQuest Institute's leadership at a time when the organization has been deepening its data and analytics capabilities — including a recent partnership with Innovaccer to improve medical-dental data integration — and continues to advocate for oral health's role in whole-person care at the federal and state policy level.