Delta Dental Community Care Foundation Addresses National Oral Health Care Crisis Among Older Adults

SAN FRANCISCO - April 26, 2022 - PRLog -- The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of California, today announced it is launching a multi-year program to fund community-based coalitions to address the oral health care crisis among older adults in the U.S. A recent report by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) cited adults aged 65 years and older as the most critically underserved and vulnerable population for oral health care in America. In collaboration with its first two coalition partners, Howard University College of Dentistry and Mary's Center – a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), the Foundation's program is intended to promote the connection between oral health and overall health, provide quality outcomes, improve access and create greater equity in the care and treatment older adults receive.

The program's broader goals include identifying, assessing and addressing the socioeconomic and systemic causes of poor oral health among older adults, particularly those living in poverty; creating a replicable model for community-driven oral health solutions; and improving quality of life for seniors by reducing oral care disparities. In addition to Howard University College of Dentistry and Mary's Center, the Foundation will select and work with partners who are actively assisting historically underserved communities and transforming systems to improve oral health outcomes.

"Through Delta Dental's decades of experience in the oral health care sector, we know that the unmet oral health needs of older adults represent a public health crisis and a serious gap in America's health ecosystem," said Kenzie Ferguson, vice president of foundation and corporate social responsibility for Delta Dental of California. "Through this program, the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation and its partners are focused on providing support for the most vulnerable group of seniors – those living in poverty, people of color and those whose mobility issues keep them from receiving oral health care."

The Foundation's initial coalition partners, Howard University College of Dentistry and Mary's Center, are both based in the Washington D.C. metro area and have previously collaborated to address the health needs of communities of color and drive broader systemic change. Each partner will collect data on patient pathology, treatment, barriers to access and social determinants of health. The information will be utilized to identify effective interventions and inform the Delta Dental Senior Oral Health Care Model, which will be replicated as the program develops. The Foundation will expand the program to other communities and partnerships over the next three to five years.

Learn more: https://www1.deltadentalins.com/foundation.html.