Delta Dental foundation awards $30K grant for pediatric dental care

The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation has awarded a $30,000 grant to support the care efforts of the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry’s high risk pediatric dental patients. Since 2011, the Delta Dental Insurance Company’s philanthropic arm, The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, has partnered with local communities to increase access to care, support dental education, and fund research that advances oral health. The grant will be halved to support the school’s pediatric dental specialty programs at the Ricardo Salinas Clinic and at the dental health clinic located within the Laredo Health Department. Kevin Donly, DDS, MS, professor and chair of the department of developmental dentistry and immediate past-president of The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, revealed that the grant funds are a welcome relief. “With the increased costs of purchasing personal protective equipment, it has become very difficult to provide dental care to children who are uninsured and only pay minimal fees according to their family income,” he said. “Social distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus also makes it difficult for us to see patients at the same speed as we previously did prior to the pandemic’s onset.” Both the Ricardo Salinas and Laredo clinics are satellite sites where dental and postdoctoral students treat pediatric dental patients who are comprised of a predominantly lower socioeconomic minority population. Last year alone, both clinics in total treated 2,986 children with dental providers conducting more than 12,900 procedures. Maria Jose Cervantes Mendez, DDS, MS, FAAPD, associate professor and pediatric dentistry program director, expressed the critical need for these clinics to remain operational both for the community and for pre- and postdoctoral dental students. “These clinics serve as the safety net for underserved or uninsured children in the Laredo and San Antonio areas,” she says. “Working and training in these clinics allows our students to give back and fulfill their dream of making a difference by bringing back healthy smiles to the kids in our communities.” Dr. Donly is appreciative of the funding notice saying, “the generous support of the Delta Dental Community Foundation will allow us to continue our dental preventive and restorative dentistry for the most vulnerable children.”