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Serving our Community As a not-for-profit organization, Delta Dental of Illinois’ mission includes improving the oral health of the communities we serve. For over 40 years, we have been helping to provide oral health education and to expand access to oral health care for the people of Illinois. Grant and Funding Information for Illinois Organizations and Programs We support several programs and organizations that help us further our mission. If you would like us to support your organization, please complete our grant application and we will consider your request. Supporting Oral Health Education We believe promoting oral health education helps further our mission. That’s why we support and sponsor programs that educate the people of Illinois on the importance of good oral health. Because childhood is the time when good dental habits begin and healthy teeth develop, we have several programs that focus on children’s education. Teeth on the Go children’s theater program In 2007, we launched a new, free educational and entertaining children’s theater program called "Teeth on the Go" geared to children in kindergarten through third grade. Featuring the Tooth Wizard and PlaqueMan, we visited more than 30,000 children in 85 schools in Illinois. In 2008, we will visit 100 additional Illinois schools with this program. For more information on this program, please view a link below. 2008 shows Teeth on the Go is a health program based on curriculum requirements that provides elementary school teachers and health professionals with a variety of learning tools to use during their study of oral health in the classroom. It is a "bookbag program" for the classroom that teaches students in kindergarten through second grade the importance of oral health and how to care for their teeth. The program incorporates a variety of visual and audio learning tools, showing students how they can have healthy teeth and gums. It also includes instruction on the importance of teeth to a child's overall health, the impact of nutrition on teeth and proper oral hygiene and toothbrushing techniques. To learn more and to request a kit click here! Oral Health Education Across Illinois We also support other community public and private programs that provide essential oral health education to their communities, including the University of Illinois Medical Center at Mile Square in Chicago, Girls In The Game in Chicago, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District - Dental Division, and others. Improving Access to Oral Health Care Grants to Illinois Dental Schools and Dental StudentsIn 2007, Delta Dental of Illinois contributed $250,000 to the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry’s Department of Pediatric Dentistry to create the Delta Dental of Illinois Predoctoral Pediatric Dentistry Clinic at the College. The UIC Pediatric Clinic is the largest provider of dental services to children on Medicaid in Illinois; it has been expanded to include services for underserved children with special needs. The clinic has also launched a health promotion and disease prevention program, enrolling cavity-free infants and their mothers in an effort to help the children remain free of oral disease. The contribution will help the UIC Department of Pediatric Dentistry create a state-of-the-art pre-doctoral pediatric dentistry clinic. "This gift will provide faculty, students and patients with a completely modern facility in which to deliver high quality dental care and oral health education," said Dr. Robert Dennison, CEO of Delta Dental of Illinois. In 2006, Delta Dental of Illinois contributed $250,000 to Southern Illinois University (SIU), which will ensure the newly dedicated SIU School of Dental Medicine’s Main Clinic is fully equipped to meet the needs of its patients. A prominent feature of the addition is a pediatric dentistry bay, which includes four operatories dedicated to pediatric dentistry. The Advanced Care Wing is named the Delta Dental of Illinois Advanced Care Wing. We offer grants, which assist University of Illinois at Chicago and Southern Illinois University dental students who exemplify professionalism in the management of providing patient care services and have committed to practice in Illinois. Grants to Help Expand Access to Care for Illinois Children, Elderly and Disabled We support agencies across Illinois that help expand oral health access to the people of Illinois, including Easter Seals of Metropolitan Chicago, the Mercer County Toothmobile, the DuPage County Health Department Smile Squad (mobile dental units), Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and the Illinois Donated Dental Services (DDS) Program (started by The Illinois Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped (IFDH) and the Illinois State Dental Society (ISDS)). Dental Clinic Support We provide assistance to clinics delivering dental care to underserved populations throughout the state. These include the Erie Family Health Center in Chicago, Infant Welfare Society of Oak Park-River Forest, Adams County Community Dental Clinic in Quincy, Alivio Medical Center in Chicago, Central Illinois Dental Services and Education in Champaign, and the Free People’s Clinic in Chicago
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