Giving back
Our purpose statement points us toward creating smiles, improving health and enhancing lives – and part of how we make that come to life is through the initiatives we use to contribute to our communities and increase dental health awareness.
We kicked off 2018 with the announcement that Delta Dental awarded the largest grant in our history to the UCLA School of Dentistry. The $1.5 million grant will support the launch of a community-based clinical education program, enabling fourth-year dental students, overseen by credentialed dental practitioners, to tread Medicaid recipients and individuals who struggle with access to care.
Other recent initiatives have included:
- A $650,000 grant to the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine’s PennSmiles program, a mobile dental clinic focused on providing comprehensive dental care and oral health education to more than 50,000 children in Philadelphia.
- A serious effort to improve our impact on the environment and go even greener.
- Helping the future dentists of America with a $10,000 award to one dental student in each of the 30 dental schools in our operating areas per year.
- Leading the effort to solve the oral health crisis across the country with $5.2 million in Access to Care grants to increase access to dental care in underserved communities, and $3.3 million to fund oral health education and research grants
And, our teams frequently take part in philanthropic efforts on a smaller scale. From volunteering at local food banks to participating in charity races, Delta Dental employees work together, and individually, to live our purpose each day.