The DentaQuest Foundation said Monday that it will fund efforts to improve the oral health of the region's children, particularly those in lower-income areas.
The foundation awarded a $331,343 grant to the University of Maryland to promote statewide oral health literacy and put up another $202,886 to support development of a Maryland Dental Action Coalition.
More than a third of the state's kindergartners and third graders in 2006 had untreated tooth decay, according to the foundation. And, in 2007, more than 70 percent of children in the state's Medicaid program had never seen a dentist.
The University of Maryland's School of Public Health will survey 4,000 parents and health care providers to see what they know about oral health and develop a program based on the results. The coalition, once created, will be an independent advocacy group that will implement the program around Maryland, along with other organizations and professionals.
"Currently, there isn't a single organization in the state that can coordinate an evidence-based oral health literacy campaign that focuses on reducing oral health disparities," Dr. Harry Goodman, director of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Office of Oral Health, said in a statement.
"With these grants," he said, "the DentaQuest Foundation has really stepped up at a time when we know there's a problem, and there's tremendous willingness to do something about it, but the public resources simply aren't available."
Ralph Fuccillo, president of the DentaQuest Foundation, the philanthropy arm of DentaQuest, an oral health benefits provider, said Maryland's effort could help children across the country.
"We applaud the statewide response to gaps in access and feel certain that these grants will further Maryland's leadership as a national model for oral health awareness and fighting disparities," he said in a statement. "Equipped with effective tools and knowledge, community leaders, parents, health care providers, educators and the general public can more easily tackle oral health problems."
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