OCF Celebrates Children's Dental Health Month

Date: 02/21/17

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Joan Vallejo
Communications Director
jvallejo@oregoncf.org
503.227.6846

OCF Celebrates Children's Dental Health Month with $788,500 Awarded in Grants

White Bird Clinic Receives $10,500 and South Lane Children's Dental Clinic receives $50,000

Portland, Ore. — February 21, 2017 — February is the nationally recognized Children's Dental Health Month, shining a spotlight on an issue of particular importance in Oregon – the state has one of the country’s highest rates of childhood dental disease. The causes of this preventable epidemic include limited access to community water fluoridation, inadequate education, economic hardship and lack of dental insurance and dental care. If left untreated, dental disease can be devastating to children’s health, educational success, productivity, self-image and future potential.

This silent epidemic is disproportionately affecting Oregon children primarily due to limited access to community water fluoridation and dental care, regardless of income. The 2016 Progress Report on the Strategic Plan for Oral Health in Oregon found that only 22.2 percent of Oregonians reside in communities with optimally fluoridated water. This is an important statistic because fluoride strengthens teeth throughout a person’s lifespan, helps prevent tooth decay by making teeth more resistant to acid attacks from plaque bacteria and sugars in the mouth, and it reverses early decay. Additionally, since Medicaid reimbursement rates for dentists in Oregon are lower in comparison to other states, many dentists do not accept Medicaid, which results in families having another barrier to getting dental care.

To address the statewide crisis in Oregon, The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) launched the five-year Children's Dental Health Initiative in 2014 and built partnerships with other funders to improve access to care statewide. With financial support from A-dec, The Collins Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Meyer Memorial Trust, Northwest Health Foundation, and Providence Health and Services, OCF just awarded fourteen grants totaling $773,500 to bring dental screening and preventive services into school settings, promote oral health literacy, and develop infrastructure that provides all children in Oregon with timely access to age-appropriate dental care.

In Eugene, White Bird Clinic received $10,500 in the third year of a three-year grant to support school-based dental services for children in the Bethel School District. In Cottage Grove, the South Lane Children’s Dental Clinic received $50,000 in its third year of a three-year grant to provide support for the expansion of clinic services and for collaborative efforts with other providers.

“Dental disease is the most common chronic health condition in children, and yet it is preventable.  Dental care should begin with the mother-to-be and children should have their first dental visit by age one. It is never too early to safeguard your child, since dental disease is linked to other health issues and lost time at school. Every dollar spent on childhood preventive dental care is an investment in Oregon’s future,” said Alyssa Franzen, Dental Director for CareOregon. She went on to say, “The cost of effective early intervention is negligible compared to the social and economic costs of widespread, untreated dental disease in our state.”

All grantees are expected to work with their regional Coordinated Care Organizations, like Trillium Community Health Plan, and Dental Care Organizations such as CareOregon Dental, as part of this Initiative to ensure their efforts complement the coordinated care model that Oregon has adopted.

In addition, OCF co-founded the Oral Health Funders Collaborative of Oregon and Southwest Washington with several funding partners in 2011. On behalf of the Collaborative, OCF approved a $15,000 grant to the American Fluoridation Society for their efforts to retain or reinstate community water fluoridation in cities across this region.

To learn more about OCF’s Children’s Dental Health Initiative or the read the 2016 Progress Report on the Strategic Plan for Oral Health in Oregon, visit: http://www.oregoncf.org/ocf-initiatives/children-and-families/childrens-dental-health.

The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life for all Oregonians through the power of philanthropy. OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds OCF awarded more than $100 million in grants and scholarships in 2015. For more information about OCF, please visit: http://www.oregoncf.org.