2010 Northeast Delta Dental Foundation Donates $5,000 for Oral Health Project
The Northeast Delta Dental Foundation recently awarded the Wentworth-Douglass Community Dental Center $5,000 to plan and implement the Oral Health Integration into Primary Healthcare project for the Wentworth-Douglass Physician Corporation (WDPC) medical practices. This is in addition to $7,000 that was awarded by the Patterson Dental Foundation. WDPC practices will be one of the first groups in New Hampshire to embrace the integration of oral health into primary healthcare.
Northeast Delta Dental Foundation awards grants to oral health initiatives in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. “Northeast Delta Dental supports the integration of oral health and primary healthcare, so we are particularly pleased to fund this project,” said Betty Andrews, Secretary and Treasurer of the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation Board.
According to Gregory Walker, FAHCE, President & CEO of Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, the Oral Health project will improve both the medical and dental care patients receive at the doctor’s office. “Thanks to grateful donors such as Northeast Delta Dental Foundation,” Walker said, “patient visits to their primary care provider will have added value and help prevent dental disease and connect families in need to the services offered at the Wentworth-Douglass Community Dental Center.”
Dr. Jay Afrow, Dental Director, will visit WDPC offices for a “Lunch & Learn” overview of oral health issues so medical providers can do oral health assessments on adults and children. Each WDPC office will choose an Oral Health Champion to assist providers with referrals to the Dental Center if their patients do not have an established dentist and meet the Hospital’s financial aid criteria of less than 300% of Federal Poverty Guidelines. A very important aspect of this program will be training medical personnel to apply fluoride varnish to the teeth of high-risk children at well-child visits. Access to routine medical and dental care can improve the overall health of children and adults served by Wentworth-Douglass Hospital.
