Delta Dental foundation awards grants to Ill. groups

The Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation recently awarded $208,000 to 14 Illinois organizations to help improve the oral health of children within the state.

The foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of Illinois, gave the funds to several organizations, including a $100,000 Wisdom Tooth Award and $108,000 in community grants.

As the first-ever recipient of the Wisdom Tooth Award, Promise Healthcare will use the award to expand the number of children it reaches with its SmileHealthy Well Child Hygiene Project over the next two years. The organization's clinic will be able to be open one additional day each week, and its mobile clinic will be expanded to three days per week.

The Douglas County Health Department will receive a $5,000 grant to support a partnership between the department's dental clinic and the Wellness on Wheels van, which will make two trips to the Amish and Mennonite schools in Douglas and Moultrie counties. Children between the ages of 5 and 15 will receive education, exams, cleanings, and referrals.

The Lake Land College Dental Hygiene Clinic in Mattoon will receive a $10,000 grant for student hygienists to perform oral exams, cleanings, x-rays, and fluoride treatments under the supervision of instructors. The grant provides funding for a digital panoramic unit, which will allow the clinic to safely serve approximately 250 children, ages 18 months to 18 years.

Other grant recipients include the Community Nurse Health Association, which serves as a dental home for low-income children; the Erie Family Health Center, the Howard Area Community Center; the Illinois State Dental Society Foundation; the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago; the Little City Foundation; the McHenry County Cooperative Dental Clinic; Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society; the Riverbend Head Start & Family Services; the Children's Place Association; and the Hope School.