The Delta Dental Institute released its 2020 Community Impact Report, highlighting the investments Delta Dental companies and their foundations made in 2020 to advance oral health, respond to COVID-19, and fight inequalities. and health disparities.. Delta Dental of Arizona has impacted the lives of 346,818 people in Arizona by investing $ 1,787,734 in 54 community impact programs. Nationally, the Delta Dental companies together invested more than $ 102.5 million in communities in 2020, supporting more than 2,400 programs, affecting 24.7 million lives and providing 20,000 volunteer hours, more than ever in Delta Dental’s 65 year history. In addition to their commitment to community impact, Delta Dental companies across the country have also pledged $ 1.1 billion.

“As our country grapples with a pandemic, injustice, and persistent gaps in access to oral health care and education, Delta Dental has engaged alongside our communities to address their concerns. most urgent needs, ”said James W. Hutchison, President and CEO, Delta Dental Plans Association. “In times of crisis and uncertainty, Delta Dental has never wavered in its enduring commitment to ensure access and equity for all. ”

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The report highlights three key areas for giving in 2020: advancing oral health, responding to COVID-19, and addressing health inequalities and disparities.

• Delta Dental companies have served the oral health of communities by supporting direct dental treatment in underserved communities; water fluoridation initiatives; and oral health education.

• Delta Dental companies responded to COVID-19 by providing loans to dental safety net clinics; allow dental practices to acquire PPE; and supporting local safety nets like food banks.

• Delta Dental companies have responded to the country’s struggle against its long history of racial injustice by investing in organizations such as the NAACP and the National Urban League; reach underserved communities of color with oral health programs; and support scholarships and training for dentists of color.

“Community is everything to us at Delta Dental,” said Vivian Vasallo, Executive Director of the Delta Dental Institute. “While the memories of 2020 will be etched in our memories for years to come, the positive impact Delta Dental companies have had on millions of lives by delivering on our promise to serve the oral and overall health of our communities. will remain so too.

A sample of the 54 organizations positively impacted by Delta Dental of Arizona and its Delta Dental of Arizona Foundation in 2020 include:

• The Boys and Girls Club of the Metro Phoenix Children’s Dental Clinic provides preventive and restorative oral health services to at least 890 low-income and uninsured youth in the Phoenix metro area who attend the BGCMP Homes Club and ‘other children and families in the community.

• El Rio Community Health Center integrates dental hygiene teams at five El Rio Health sites in Tucson and provides dental screening, fluoride varnish and oral health education to 16,000 children who receive pediatric visits. Neighborhood Outreach Access to Health (NOAH), the Smiles for Kids program is a school-based oral health education and screening program delivered to children in schools and community events at Scottsdale Public Title 1 schools School District and Paradise Valley School District.

• Tooth BUDDS is a group of affiliated dental hygienists who serve the children of Graham and Greenlee counties by providing dental screenings, dental cleanings, sealants, fluoride varnish, silver diamine fluoride applications and free SMART restorations at the convenience of their school.

• A New Leaf Healthy Smiles for Life provides dental hygiene education and supplies to preschool and high school children from low-income, underserved and un / underinsured households.

• The Children’s Museum of Phoenix’s Back to School Dental Hygiene Support Program engages 22,000 children (ages 0-10) and their caregivers each summer in activities designed to promote healthy habits oral health and expand our commitment to providing dental health education to children in Maricopa County.

• Learning with a Smiles by Esperanca ends bilingual educators to provide oral health education to low-income Latin American children and seniors in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

• The Mountain Park Community Health Center Mother and Child Dental Program offers free preventive dental screenings and cleanings to pregnant women as part of their prenatal care.

• River Cities United Way Happy Healthy Smiles is a program for rural Mohave and La Paz counties that provides kindergarten children with hands-on oral health education.

• Southwest Human Development Oral Health Program for Children and Families is an educational program for children and families in our Healthy Families program (home visits), Head Start / Early Head Start (classroom, community gatherings and virtual meetings) providing instructions on the importance of daily and permanent oral care, preventive screenings and the importance of having a dental office.

• The Tohono O’odham Nation Healthcare Medico-Dental Collaborative Program is a medical-dental collaboration incorporating a Registered Dental Hygienist (HDR) into all acute care and healthcare pediatric medical visits providing education. dental screening, fluoride application, cavity identification and silver initiation. diamine fluoride (SDF) treatment in the medical clinic.

“In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020 Delta Dental also donated $ 500,000 to the 23 Federally Approved Health Centers (FQHC) in Arizona and provided over 30,000 brushes. toothpaste and toothpaste tubes at homeless shelters across the state, ”said Barb Kozuh. , director of community marketing, Delta Dental of Arizona.

The full report is available online at https://www.deltadental.com/institute/community-benefit/