DELTA DENTAL OF MISSOURI AWARDS MORE THAN $481,000 IN ORAL HEALTH GRANTS 

 

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (August 4, 2022) … To help meet the dental health needs of children and adults, Delta Dental of Missouri – the state’s leading dental benefits provider – recently awarded $481,327 in oral health grant funding to 16 organizations in support of oral health initiatives and educational programming in Missouri and in South Carolina, where it also does business. The funding is part of the non-profit company’s annual mission giving efforts.

“Our mission is to help people of all ages access vital dental care and educational services, so they can live better lives through improved dental health,” said Rob Goren, president and chief executive officer at Delta Dental of Missouri. “As a non-profit, we are proud to partner with these organizations – some of which we’ve helped to support for a number of years – as they work to make a very real impact on the dental care needs of thousands of kids and adults.”

Funding through Delta Dental of Missouri’s Oral Health Grant Program supports the operations, programming, expansion efforts, and equipment costs for organizations working to improve oral health across the state. HNC Living Foundation is one of the organizations Delta Dental of Missouri has been supporting since 2020 through a series of grants totaling $70,000. These funds help the foundation provide low-income head and neck cancer patients in Missouri with important dental procedures. Without access to these dental procedures, many of these patients would have increased healthcare risk, decreased quality of life, and further delayed oral surgeries.

“I didn't realize having cancer had anything to do with my teeth,” commented Mr. Hall, a patient of HNC Living Foundation who understands and places greater value on his ongoing oral healthcare after dental services restored his ability to chew, eat, speak and swallow.  “I could have easily not done anything and taken my chances, but my doctors made me realize how important dental care is to tonsil cancer recovery. I knew the dental procedures to extract what I would consider to be six perfectly good teeth would be very expensive. That's when I heard about the HNC Living Foundation's grant, and, to be honest, I wouldn't have done the extractions if the financial help wasn't there. I am very grateful to Delta Dental of Missouri and the grant they provided to help me continue my dental care.”

The complete list of oral health grants most recently awarded in Missouri include:

 • LevelUp Kids, Inc. (Kansas City, Mo.) – received $10,000 to help provide uncompensated care to children from families with low incomes in Clay and Platte Counties.

 • Children’s Mercy (Kansas City, Mo.) – received $14,024 to support dental clinic access for uninsured and underinsured patients. 

 • HNC Living Foundation (Overland Park, Kan.) – received $20,000 to help provide dental care for head and neck cancer patients in Missouri.

 • Cass Community Health Foundation (Kansas City, Mo.) – received $23,053 to support the Cass County Dental Clinic serving children that are uninsured or on Medicaid.

 • Baptist Trinity Lutheran Legacy Foundation (Kansas City, Mo.) – received $25,000 for advanced dental services to help restore smiles, health and quality of life for low-income individuals living in poverty.

 • Ready Readers (St. Louis, Mo.) – received $25,000 for the development of dental creative kits in pre-k classrooms promoting dental health literacy and the development of healthy oral habits.

 • Child-Center Marygrove (Florissant, Mo.) – received $25,000 to support its Marygrove clinic responsible for the dental needs of children and youth who live or stay temporarily at Marygrove as a result of abuse, abandonment or homelessness each year

 • Compass Health Network (Troy, Mo.) – received $30,000 for the expansion of dental clinic serving low-income, high-need patients in Lincoln County

 • Children’s Smile Center (Ozark, Mo.) – received $35,000 to help respond to the rapid demand increase of Medicaid dental patients at its locations located in Southwest Missouri.

 • Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ozarks (Springfield, Mo.) – received $49,250 to provide dental services and purchase equipment for its Tooth Truck.

 • Big Springs Medical Association (Ellington, Mo.) – received $50,000 for dental equipment and supplies to provide improved access to restorative and preventive dental care for low-income and/or uninsured residents in Southeast Missouri. 

Delta Dental of Missouri also awarded $175,000 in grants to organizations in South Carolina.

Delta Dental of Missouri is currently accepting applications for the second grant cycle of its 2022 Oral Health Grant Program. To be eligible for an oral health grant from Delta Dental of Missouri, applicants in Missouri must first complete a letter of inquiry through the online application system at  https://www.deltadentalmo.com/AboutUs/oral-health-grant-program, which includes program guidelines and application instructions. Online letters of inquiry are due on August 26, 2022, and online applications are due on September 2, 2022. Applicants must be considered tax-exempt under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or be a public or governmental entity, such as a public school or health department, and serve the people of Missouri.

About Delta Dental of Missouri
Delta Dental of Missouri is the state’s leading dental benefits provider and a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. It provides more than 2.1 million members with access to affordable, high-quality dental care through group plans tailored to meet the needs of organizations of all sizes, from large corporations to small businesses with two or more employees. Delta Dental also offers dental benefit plans directly to individuals and families. It also provides access to affordable, high-quality vision care through group vision benefit plans. The company proudly supports oral health initiatives, educational programs and charitable causes that help educate people about the importance of dental health and provide free dental care to those in need. Delta Dental of Missouri also created the Missouri Dental Care Resource Guide to help individuals access information about low-cost and free dental care options in their area—available online at www.DeltaDentalMO.com/ResourceGuide1. To learn more about the company, visit www.DeltaDentalMO.com.