About Dr. Peterson

Vacharee Peterson, Founder and President

Dr. Vacharee Peterson is a dynamic dentist and motivational speaker, eager to share the knowledge of dentistry for children with her colleagues.

Vacharee Peterson, DDS, is the co-founder and former CEO of Community Dental Care in Minnesota. Established in 1982 with her husband, Andrew Peterson, DDS, Community Dental Care has allowed Dr. Peterson to focus on her career-long commitment to serving immigrant, refugee and low-income families.  In 1992, Dr. Peterson founded Cavity Free Kids, a preventive care company promoting dental health in children. Cavity Free Kids provides professional educational programs on clinical pediatric dentistry. Over 1,500 dentists, 300 dental assistants and 200 hygienists
nationwide have participated in her workshops. Dr. Peterson has invented a number of products to improve dental care for children. The patented PedoBurrito™ is a security device that allows dentists to treat young children without the use of sedation or general anesthesia. Over 300 PedoBurritos have been sold nationwide. ToothPaint™is a low-fluoride topical solution for children for home use. Dr. Peterson also received a patent for a double-headed toothbrush. She has developed educational literature for parents including “Baby Teeth Handbook,” a comprehensive booklet for parents of young children, and other pamphlets on baby bottle-caused tooth decay and oral hygiene. In 2017, Dr. Peterson developed and manufactured Baby’s First
Brush, a specially designed toothbrush for infants and toddlers.

In 2005, Dr. Peterson received the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce /Wells Fargo Asian Business Leadership Award. This award honors the nation’s leading Asian small business owners for their vision, success, and community contributions. In 2005, Dr. Peterson was nominated by Bremer Bank and selected as an honoree of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s Minority Business Guide in recognition of being one of the Twin Cities top minority business owners. In 2012, she was awarded the Humanitarian Service Award by the Minnesota Dental Association for extraordinary humanitarian service to the local and global community. In 2014, she received the Minnesota Department of Health’s Lou Fuller Award for Distinguished Service in
Eliminating Health Disparities. In 2015, Dr. Peterson championed the Early Dental Disease Prevention Initiative which became official legislation in Minnesota. In 2016, Dr. Peterson and her team launched the Minnesota Cavity Free Kids Program at Community Dental Care. The goals of the Minnesota Cavity Free Kids Program are that all children will have access to preventive oral health care, recognize the importance of oral health, adopt healthy habits that support it, and grow up cavity free.

Dr. Peterson was born in Thailand and received her BA in Chemistry from Bethel College in 1973. She obtained her DDS degree from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry in 1982. She is a member of the American Dental Association, Minnesota Dental Association (MDA), St. Paul District Dental Society, Safety Net Coalition, Olmsted County Children’s Oral Health Task Force, and is an associate member of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Peterson is a past member of the Minnesota Department of Human Services Advisory Committee for Dental Access. She was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award in Community Service from Bethel College in 1988. She served as Chair for the Urban Safety Net Committee of the MDA and as Chair for the Thai Church of Minnesota Board of Directors.