The Virginia Dental Association Foundation (VDAF) recently received a generous $10,000 grant from DentaQuest to support the Mission of Mercy (MOM) program.
The VDAF provides care through various direct service programs, including the Mission of Mercy (MOM) mobile dental projects, Donated Dental Services (DDS), and Give Kids a Smile!. Funding from DentaQuest will support the MOM program’s six clinics to be conducted across the state in 2016. Launched in 2000, the MOM program operates mobile clinics to offer free dental services throughout Virginia. MOM projects are conducted in identified, underserved areas of the state where there are not enough dental practitioners to adequately address the oral health needs of the community. Through 85 completed MOM projects, 59,053 patients have received dental care. The services, valued at $38.3 million in total, were provided by 23,055 volunteers. To learn more or volunteer with a 2016 MOM project, please visit, www.vdaf.org.
“Lack of oral health care has serious implications for peoples’ overall health,” said Kristen Gilliam, Executive Director of DentaQuest. “Through this ongoing partnership, DentaQuest aims to help bring care to our community while also shedding light on the incredible unmet oral health needs of Virginians – especially low-income adults and families.”
“The VDAF is very grateful for the tradition of collaboration with DentaQuest,” said Tara Quinn, Executive Director of the Virginia Dental Association Foundation. “Working together we can leverage their support to provide the best care available for the undeserved in Virginia. The MOM Program both cares for the immediate health needs of vulnerable patients and helps to create sustainable solutions in the communities that need them most.”
ABOUT THE VDAF
Founded in 1996 as the charitable and outreach arm of the Virginia Dental Association, the VDAF is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide access to dental care for underserved and underinsured Virginians. For more information about the Virginia Dental Association Foundation and its programs, visit www.vdaf.org.
ABOUT DENTAQUEST
DentaQuest is the second largest oral health benefits company in the United States and the largest in the Medicaid space. In Virginia, DentaQuest partners with the state to administer the Virginia Smiles for Children program serving over 950,000 members. Along with the charitable DentaQuest Foundation and the educational DentaQuest Institute, DentaQuest’s mission is to improve the oral health of all. Follow DentaQuest on Twitter @dentaquest and Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/DentaQuest, and subscribe to our blog, Oral Health Matters at: http://oralhealthmatters.blogspot.com/.