Dr. Natalia Chalmers

Dr. Natalia Chalmers is a board-certified pediatric dentist, oral health policy expert, and public health advocate with more than 20 years of clinical, research, and regulatory experience. She was named the 2025 AAPD Pediatric Dentist of the Year. As chief dental officer and head of clinical innovation at Overjet, she leverages data-driven insights to transform dental care delivery and expand access to high-quality, patient-centered care.

Previously, she made history as the first chief dental officer in the Office of the Administrator at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In that role, she led initiatives to expand dental coverage, established the agency’s first dental claims processing system, and implemented new quality measures that reshaped the national conversation on oral health. Her public-sector leadership also includes service as dental officer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Chalmers earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the Faculty of Dental Medicine at the Medical University of Sofia and completed a pediatric dentistry residency at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. She received a PhD in oral microbiology through the University of Maryland School of Dentistry and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research at the National Institutes of Health, followed by postdoctoral training at the ADA Forsyth Institute and a clinical research fellowship at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.

She also holds a master’s degree in clinical research from Duke University and a certificate in drug development and regulatory science from the University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy.