Guest Editorial
C D A J O U R N A L , V O L 5 0 , Nº 6
State of the CDA Foundation Richard Graham, DDS Chair, CDA Foundation Board of Directors
I
t has been a challenging two years. As CDA members, we are all too aware that providing dental care to patients since March 16, 2020, has changed significantly. All of us must share a sense that our profession will never be the same — another one of those seminal events that reshapes our lives in countless ways. As current chair of the CDA Foundation Board of Directors, I have been asked to share some insight as to our activities, some that have been profoundly affected by the SARSCoV-2 pandemic and others that have continued with little or no interruption. The CDA Foundation was founded in 2001 with the primary mission to improve the oral health of Californians by supporting the dental profession in its efforts to meet community needs. To that end, a number of programs have been established over the succeeding years: ■ The Student Loan Repayment Grant helps new graduates reduce their indebtedness in exchange for a commitment to practice in underserved areas. To date, 22 dentists have been awarded this grant. ■ In partnership with the University of California, San Francisco, research was funded and published in the effort to manage caries risk through assessment procedures, also known as CAMBRA. ■ In partnership with Henry Schein Cares, the Foundation has established the Dental Materials and Supplies Grant. Nonprofit organizations are recipients of this award and receive dental supplies that help provide dental care in underserved communities.
Along with the delivery of care to individuals in need, the (CDA Cares) events have also drawn media and public attention to the plight of the underserved.
■
■
■
In a combined effort with the California Society of Pediatric Dentistry, the Foundation created the Pediatric Oral Health Access Program for underserved children. This program has evolved into the Treating Young Kids Everyday (TYKE) program, an online course designed to increase dentists’ confidence to see babies and young children and inspire a commitment to decreasing the prevalence of dental caries in California’s children. The program is available online at cda.org and has been completed by approximately 5,900 dental professionals. To help meet the needs of our dependent seniors, the Foundation developed and successfully piloted the Geriatric Oral Health Access Program to test an innovative model of care in which registered dental hygienists in alternative practice (RDHAP) partnered with facility dentists to perform assessments, develop oral health treatment plans and deliver appropriate hygiene protocols to improve the oral health services provided to residents in long-term care facilities. In response to natural disasters, including the devastating wildfires that have wracked colleagues up
and down the state, the Foundation has distributed funds to dental professionals whose homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. ■ Most recently, Foundation relief efforts have included providing a portal for member donations to be collected and delivered to our colleagues and their patients in Ukraine. The most visible example of Foundation efforts has been the creation of the CDA Cares program. The first CDA Cares event was held in 2012 and has been repeated at rotating venues across the state. To date, CDA Cares has provided over $25 million dollars in oral health care with more than 30,000 individuals receiving treatment. Along with the delivery of care to individuals in need, the events have also drawn media and public attention to the plight of the underserved. As a result, policymakers in Sacramento have addressed issues like adding adult Medi-Cal dental benefits back into the state budget. On a personal note, my involvement with the CDA Foundation began in 2014 when I was asked to volunteer at a CDA Cares event in Vallejo, California. My assignment was to help manage a relatively small group of volunteers who would medically screen potential CDA Cares patients prior to receiving JUNE 2 0 2 2
309
