CDA Cares Delivers Oral Health Services to 1650 ... - CDA Foundation

CDA Cares Delivers Oral Health Services to 1,650 People
$1.2 million in free dental care provided during two-day Modesto event
For Immediate Release
May 21, 2012
Sacramento, Calif. — The California Dental Association Foundation’s free dental
clinic, CDA Cares, provided an estimated $1.2 million in charitable dental services during
the two-day event held May 18-19 in Modesto.
The California Dental Association, the CDA Foundation and national partner America's
Dentists Care Foundation, hosted the clinic to provide oral health services and education
to Californians who experience barriers to care.
“In addition to providing free dental services to people in need, it is our goal with CDA
Cares to raise awareness with the public and policymakers about the need for a state oral
health infrastructure to improve the oral health of Californians,” said CDA President Dan
Davidson, DMD. “Volunteerism and charity events such as CDA Cares deliver tremendous
amounts of dental services, but they are not a sustainable system of care.”
More than 1,000 volunteers donated their time and services at the event, including 300
health professionals – dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, nurses and lab
technicians – as well as hundreds of community volunteers who assisted with registration,
translation, data entry and escorting patients.
During the event, dentists and dental professionals provided 7,200 procedures, including
cleanings, fillings and extractions to 1,650 people, about 10 percent of which were
children. In addition, the clinic provided more than 80 complete or partial dentures to
patients in need.
In addition to dental services, patients received oral health education materials, assistance
in finding a dental home for future care, and an oral health kit with essentials such as a
toothbrush and toothpaste.
“The CDA Foundation works to make a lasting and positive impact on the lives of
underserved Californians and CDA Cares allows us that opportunity in communities like
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Contact: Alicia Malaby
916.554.5372
alicia.malaby@cda.org

Modesto,” said Don Rollofson, DMD, CDA Foundation chair. “The people we served left
with a better understanding of the importance of maintaining their oral health, which is
essential to overall health.”
CDA Cares was also attended by a number of state and local elected officials, as well as
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Region IX Director Herb Schultz.
The California Dental Association Foundation will host another CDA Cares event Aug. 24-
25 in Sacramento at Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd.
Visit cdafoundation.org for information on CDA Cares and how to register to volunteer.
About the California Dental Association Foundation
The CDA Foundation was formed as the philanthropic affiliate of the California Dental
Association in 2001 with the mission to improve the oral health of Californians by
supporting the dental health profession and its efforts to increase access to care for the
state’s most vulnerable people. The CDA Foundation works with experts in the dental
profession, private business, academic institutions and government to produce programs
that increase access to care; promote prevention, education and intervention; advance
health policy research; and build a sustainable oral health workforce.
www.cdafoundation.org.
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