A $4.5 million grant to the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry will be used to provide dental care for children.
The grant, from the First 5 Riverside County Children and Families Commission, will provide dental health screenings for about 5,500 children a year and treatment for about 700 children a year, the university noted in a press release.
The grant will expand access to much-needed dental care for children through age 5 and will allow dental health professionals to perform triage. The program works with local schools, Head Start programs, and child care centers to screen the children, with the most urgent cases being referred to the school's dental clinic and dental offices in Riverside County.
First 5 Riverside is funded by Proposition 10 tobacco tax revenues and is designed to help children prenatal through age 5 develop a foundation for success in school and throughout their lives.
