DSB W - University of Iowa College of Dentistry

Page 2
(Delta Dental of Iowa/FIND project, continued from page 1)
Drs. Daniel Caplan, head of Preventive
& Community, and Rebecca
Slayton, head of Pediatric Dentistry, attended
a ceremony and press conference
that was held in Des Moines at
Delta Dental of Iowa on September 1,
2011. Representatives from Delta Dental
of Iowa, state government, the UI
College of Dentistry, the press, and
many other interested individuals also
attended. The ceremony was held to
celebrate the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation
milestone of giving over $1 million
to dentists as part of the “FIND”
program. The project recruits dentists
to practice in rural, underserved areas
within Iowa, and in return, the program
assists in repaying the recruits’ dental
education debt. The FIND project was
established in 2002 and offers a threeyear
grant of $50,000 to the dentists for
loan repayment.
(Left): Drs. Caplan and Slayton
pose with Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks,
current head of the Iowa Department of
Public Health.
(Left to right): Dr. Kirstina Gratz (DDS ‘11),
now practicing in Bloomfield; Dr. Maria Fuller
(DDS ‘06), now practicing in Corning; and Dr.
Travis Harbaugh (DDS ‘09), now practicing in
Allison, are all loan repayment recipients.
Drs. Gratz and Fuller each received $50,000
from Delta Dental of Iowa. Dr. Harbaugh received
$100,000 from the Fulfilling Iowa’s
Need for Dentists (FIND) project.