Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation Improving the Smiles of Iowa Children

Posted on July 3, 2018 in Foundation

Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation has donated more than 195,000 toothbrushes for I-Smile® and Iowa Head Start programs in all 99 Iowa counties. The donation is part of the Foundation’s education and outreach efforts to eliminate caries in young Iowa children. Children receive toothbrushes to encourage brushing, along with dental health education to help them develop and maintain a healthy smile.

According to the Surgeon General’s Oral Health in America Report, tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease. Starting and maintaining good dental habits at a young age is important and aligns with the Foundation’s long-term goal that every Iowa child age 0-12 will be cavity-free by 2020. To meet this goal, the Foundation supports a variety of outreach programs with the help of public-private partnerships.

“A new toothbrush in the hands of a child is a simple but powerful tool to improve their oral and overall health,” said Jeff Russell, president of the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation. “In order to help all Iowa children to be cavity-free by 2020, we must continue to promote programs and partnerships that provide oral health prevention and education, improve access to health care and work with schools and communities on infrastructure that promotes a healthy lifestyle.”

Iowa nonprofit organizations can request toothbrush donations to complement oral health education projects through the Delta Dental of Iowa website and select Toothbrush Donation Program.