Delta Dental Foundation Grant to Help Program Offer Dental Services to More Low-Income Children in Indiana

May 15, 2007 (Okemos, Mich.) —SEAL INDIANA, Indiana University School of Dentistry’s statewide mobile dental program, will be able to double the number of low-income children it serves with a $75,000 grant from the Delta Dental Foundation. This grant will allow children in Indiana to receive dental care that they would not normally have received.

SEAL INDIANA was launched in 2003 in collaboration with the Indiana State Department of Health to provide preventive oral health services for children who do not have access to dental care. Through a mobile dental clinic, SEAL provides dental sealants, x-rays, fluoride varnish and dental examinations. These services are performed by fourth-year dental students and second year dental hygiene students who are supervised by a faculty dentist from Indiana University School of Dentistry.

“We are very grateful to Delta Dental Foundation for being our partners in taking oral health care to children from low-income families,” said Karen M. Yoder, PhD, director, Division of Community Dentistry, Indiana University School of Dentistry. “This grant will enable us to not only provide services for children, but, because dental and dental hygiene students serve a rotation with SEAL INDIANA, it gives us the opportunity to foster a generation of future dental professionals with a greater understanding about issues related to disparities in oral health.”

SEAL INDIANA operates year-round traveling across the state to schools and community centers. In 2006, the SEAL INDIANA team visited 146 sites, examined 3,044 children and provided 4,422 dental sealants on the teeth of 1,301 children.

“The SEAL INDIANA program is making great strides in improving access to preventive oral health services for Indiana’s children,” said Nancy E. Hostetler, senior vice president of the Delta Dental Foundation. “We are pleased to support a program whose mission so closely aligns with ours.”

Delta Dental Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, seeks to support education and research for the advancement of dental science and to promote oral health of the public through education and service activities, particularly for those with special needs.