NCOHF featured in Wall Street Journal

NCOHF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of and fighting pediatric dental disease—the No. 1 chronic childhood illness—by facilitating delivery of comprehensive pediatric oral health services and eliminating this preventable disease from future generations.

NCOHF draws on vast national resources to secure and distribute product and financial donations along with innovative preventive programs to a growing network of not-for-profit university- and community-based dental clinics, health centers and mobile programs throughout the United States.

Christian J. Drake, chief operating officer of NCOHF, told Dental Tribune that the recent exposure in The Wall Street Journal helps shed light among members of the public at large about the silent epidemic. “It is also tremendously valuable to our work to help break the cycle of its devastating effects through supporting our national network of Affiliates, which provide vital prevention, education and treatment services,” Drake said.

Since 2006, NCOHF has distributed over US$6.5 million in direct funding, donated dental products and technical resources to the Affiliate network to expand and enhance critical oral health services for their local communities. In only four years, NCOHF Affiliates have provided critical preventive, restorative and educational oral health services to over 1 million children.

The 10-year plan for the NCOHF Affiliate network includes treating more than 5 million children through more than 500 centers throughout the United States and to begin providing global support to developing nations.

In addition, NCOHF aims to educate and screen more than 20 million children through schools, community events and ongoing, community-based prevention activities.

Corporate donations

NCOHF recently announced it has received dental product donations from two of the largest dental products manufacturers in the United States.

Sybron Dental Specialties has donated dental products valued at more than US$39,000 to NCOHF to provide vital dental treatment for children from vulnerable populations. The Children’s Dental Center of Greater Los Angeles (TCDC), a member of the NCOHF Affiliate network, received the donation of dental products to expand and enhance oral health services for underserved pediatric patients in the Los Angeles area.

Like all community-based healthcare centers in the NCOHF Affiliate network, the goal at TCDC is to improve the oral health of local families through comprehensive oral health programs and services that promote positive health behaviors and treat the immediate oral health care needs of underserved children.

Mr Dan Even, president of Sybron and past chairman of NCOHF, said, “As an NCOHF founding underwriter, Sybron is proud to support NCOHF life-changing oral health programs for underserved children. NCOHF Affiliates across the country continue to show impressive results in their efforts to provide quality, comprehensive care to the children who need it most.”

“We are extremely grateful to Sybron Dental Specialties for their generous product donation to our Affiliate partner, The Children’s Dental Center,” said Fern Ingber, NCOHF president and CEO. “Sybron provided the leadership gift to establish NCOHF and continues to be a dedicated partner in our mission to eliminate children’s suffering from preventable pediatric dental disease.”

In addition, DENTSPLY International donated dental products valued at more than US$163,000 to NCOHF in 2009 to provide vital dental treatment for underserved children across the country.

Twenty-two NCOHF Affiliate nonprofit oral health care centers received donated dental products throughout the year from DENTSPLY International, which included prophy paste as well as fluoride foam, gels, sealants, burs, and other assorted products. Both the NUPRO NuSolutions Prophy Paste and NUPRO Fluoride products were offered to Affiliates in a variety of child-friendly flavors such as peppermint, citrus mint, strawberry, and bubble gum apple.

Christopher Clark, president and chief operating officer of DENTSPLY, said, “DENTSPLY is proud to serve as a longstanding partner for the NCOHF Affiliate network, providing both financial and product support. NCOHF programs for underserved children meet the goals of DENTSPLY’s corporate philanthropy by improving dental prevention, education, and access to care in our most vulnerable children. Only by working together can we eliminate the oral health crisis plaguing our nation.”

“We are very grateful that DENTSPLY has been a dedicated NCOHF underwriting partner since our founding in 2006,” Ingber said. “The continued generosity of DENTSPLY, through product donations as well as financial and technical support, has played a significant role in our Affiliates’ ability to reach more than 1 million children with prevention, education and treatment services that give them hope for a pain-free and bright future.”

Thanks to generous corporate underwriters like Sybron, Dentsply and many others, 100 percent of all contributions to America’s Toothfairy go directly to fund life-changing oral healthcare for the children in the United States who need it most.

More information about NCOHF is available online, at www.ncohf.org.