Photo credit: Courtesy of Matheny Medical and Educational Center
This year, a homeless woman will visit the dentist for the first time in many years, and as a result, have the confidence to go on a job interview. A senior suffering from untreated tooth decay will finally get some relief and be able to maintain a healthier diet. And a child will smile for the first time in a long time, because her front teeth will now be intact rather than painful.
Thousands of at-risk children, seniors and developmentally disabled individuals will have access to dental care in 2013, as a result of $700,000 in Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation grants awarded to 28 community non-profit organizations and programs in New Jersey and Connecticut.
It may be surprising to learn in this day and age, with healthier lifestyles and quality dental care, that many Americans still lack access to good oral health. But there are many barriers. For example, the dental sections in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP) rarely have enough money budgeted to cover dental needs. Many states don't even provide adult dental coverage. Plus patients covered under public programs face additional hurdles, such as lack of dentists who accept Medicaid, transportation to get to the dentist, or the cost of missing work to do so.
As a result, according to the American Dental Association (ADA), "kids and adults miss sleep, school and work due to untreated dental disease. They can't eat properly; they can't smile." They wind up in hospital emergency rooms, where the cost of treatment is high and which aren't well equipped to handle dental emergencies, notes the ADA. A goal of the grants is to reduce the number of complex and urgent dental work resulting from the lack of preventive care, catching problems earlier to reduce complications later.
I'm pleased to share with you the 2013 grant recipients listed by category. For recipients by county, and more on the history of the underserved grants, see our press release. If you or someone you know is in need of dental care, please contact the Division of Family Health Service 2012 dental clinic directory.
: Provide support for the Children's Dental Center, a free dental clinic at the Central Ward Clubhouse, with the goal to increase rates of annual dental checkups while reducing the rate of tooth decay, gum pain, and poor health among children and teenagers who are members of the Boys & Girls Club.
Clifton Health Department, Clifton, NJ (Passaic County): Support increased enrollment of low-income school-age children from underserved, underinsured families in Clifton in need of free or low-cost dental services, and expand services to include underserved, underinsured families in Little Falls.
: Sustain ongoing dental education and services, specifically fluoride treatments and sealants, to uninsured school-age children who reside and attend school in East Orange and whose low-income families are unable to pay for dental needs.
EASTCONN Head Start, Hampton, CT (Windham County): Provide preventive and restorative dental care for Head Start children via the Across the Smiles Dental Van and a pediatric dentist.
:Provide free dental exams, education, and follow-up dental care to approximately 700 students from Newark, as part of the Kids Camp Health Clinic. Kids Camp offers environmental science education and leadership development programs during the summer and after school, and provides medical, vision, and dental exams to children in need.
: Work with Head Start programs in providing age-appropriate preventive care, and a link with dental homes, for underserved children including those with special needs, as well as training for staff, children, and parents, to promote good oral hygiene and reduce decay and gingivitis. This program serves families who are 150 percent below the federal poverty level.
: Hire a dental hygienist for community outreach and screening of children through age 17 for dental services as needed at OHI's two clinic sites in Toms River and Lakewood, and the new satellite site at the Clifton Avenue Elementary School in Lakewood, N.J. These "pediatric friendly" dental clinics ease exams and procedures for a segment of OHI's 5,283 primarily low-income pediatric patients.
: Support dental care to allow uninsured children in the Paterson school district to continue receiving dental treatment in a friendly environment with no fee to the families.
: Support mobile dental clinic to expand dental care to low income, school-age children. This allows Stratford to bring the dental care to the children at various schools since parents are sometimes reluctant to take their child out of school during school hours to go to the dental clinic and are unable to miss work.
: Continue the Community Connections for Bright Smiles program, which covers the cost of oral exams, preventive care, and education for low-income children and families in Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland Counties.
: Tending to the physical and mental health needs of the mentally ill and developmentally disabled is the focus of YCS. The dental care program will be administered at an ambulatory care clinic for children through age 21 at the site of one of the YCS offices in East Orange, N.J.
: Support and expand Zufall's pediatric dental program for underserved children, including facilitating the integration of dental screening and preventive services with existing pediatric medical services.
: Remove dozens of seniors, primarily in Asbury Park and Neptune, from the new-appointment four-year waiting list and provide them with removable upper and lower dentures at the only charity care dental clinic in Monmouth and Ocean Counties.
: Improve quality of life for low-income seniors who are suffering from untreated tooth decay and have gone without dental care for years. Continue to provide affordable dental care, as well as offer more complex specialty services such as implants, to many dozens of uninsured and underserved patients in Central New Jersey.
: Fund the supplies, materials, and lab fees that allow comprehensive, no-cost dental services for the area's charity care geriatric patients, many of whom have no source of income other than Social Security.
: Provide specialized dental services and preventive care to children and adults with complex developmental disabilities, a vulnerable and underserved population that has difficulty obtaining these services. For more information, view the
: Continue to support its Leonard Szerlip Dental Center, the only place in Morris County where pediatric, economically disadvantaged, and developmentally disabled populations can get access to dental services at no cost. Pediatric residents will also be trained in pediatric dental development and how to apply fluoride varnish.
: Provide funds for a pilot program, Portable Dental Hygiene Care for Special Needs Populations, developed to expand clinical services and educational programming provided by the University's Fones School of Dental Hygiene.
: Fund the hospital's satellite facility in Hamden, Conn., which increases access to oral health care for those with special health care needs. The multiyear grant is intended to award a total of $500,000 over a five-year period.
: Provide free, critical dental care through its Project Smiles Dental Clinic for people recruited from "soup kitchen" dinner guests who have no insurance or access to dental services and are at or below the poverty level.
: Purchase equipment, supplies and training for the Connecticut Mission of Mercy (CT MOM) program to provide dental services in a free two-day clinic for the state's underserved, uninsured, and working poor.
: Provide free, comprehensive dental care to aged, disabled or medically-at-risk New Jersey residents who cannot afford or otherwise access treatment for serious dental problems.
: Provide free dental care to the area's homeless, recovering addicts, uninsured, underinsured, and working poor, many of whom have not seen a dentist in 20 years.
: The program, A Maternal Dental Home in an Urban Setting, stresses the importance of good oral health care during pregnancy. This patient base rarely seeks dental care. Capturing this audience is a way to establish the role of oral hygiene within the family structure prior to the birth of the children. Regular follow-up and pediatric care will both be encouraged.
: Provide funds for dental equipment to assist students in providing care to underserved children and adults, including senior citizens and special-needs individuals.
Photo credit: Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation
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Photo credit: Courtesy of Matheny Medical and Educational Center 