ADHA Institute for Oral Health and NCOHF announce grant winners

    March 27, 2009
    Five dental hygiene programs have been awarded the necessary funding for start up costs to join the NCOHF Affiliate Network.

    The American Dental Hygienists' Association Institute for Oral Health, in conjunction with the National Children's Oral Health Foundation (NCOHF), recently announced that five dental hygiene programs have been awarded the necessary funding for start up costs to join the NCOHF Affiliate Network. The selected programs, among the first to receive the ADHA Institute/NCOHF Affiliate Network Grants are:

    • Lewis and Clark Community College, Godfrey, Ill.

    • The University of Missouri Kansas City, Kansas City, Mo.

    • Central Community College, Hastings, Neb.

    • Owens Community College, Toledo, Ohio

    • The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tenn.

    These schools will be a part of the continuing efforts of ADHA and the NCOHF America's Toothfairy Campaign to eliminate pediatric dental disease, which affects millions of children throughout the United States.

    Funding for ADHA Institute/NCOHF Affiliate Network Grants is provided through a generous donation of $17,500 by the ADHA Institute for Oral Health. The funding will help provide educational curriculum materials and valuable tools to ensure that student dental hygienists are properly equipped to address the community's needs.

    The ADHA Institute for Oral Health Board of Directors has recently established the ADHA Institute/NCOHF Affiliate Network Grant program, which will provide future opportunities for additional dental hygiene programs to join in the effort to eliminate pediatric dental disease.

    "ADHA's Institute for Oral Health is proud to award these grants to five schools which have shown meaningful dedication to eliminating pediatric dental disease," said Jean Connor, RDH, ADHA Immediate Past-president, and Chair for the Institute for Oral Health. "We hope to continue to add more dental hygiene programs to the NCOHF Affiliate Network in the coming years to have a greater impact on the oral health of the children in our communities."

    NCOHF President and CEO Fern Ingber agreed. "We are delighted that these schools have been awarded ADHA Institute/NCOHF Grants and are becoming NCOHF Affiliates," she said. "The students in these programs are already making a difference in their communities, and will be leaders in this child-saving work for years to come."

    About NCOHF

    The National Children's Oral Health Foundation was established with the sole purpose of eliminating the number one chronic childhood illness — pediatric dental disease. Fortunately, dentistry has the cure. With this in mind, NCOHF is dedicated to raising awareness of this debilitating disease, facilitating much-needed comprehensive pediatric oral health services, and eliminating it from future generations.

    By drawing on vast national resources and distributing them to not-for-profit local community-based dental centers, stand-alone clinics, universities, and mobile units throughout America, millions of at risk children will receive quality comprehensive oral health services. Pediatric dental disease can be controlled and eradicated with treatment, preventive services, and educational programs.

    For more information, call (704) 350-1600 or visit www.ncohf.org or www.AmericasToothfairy.org.