State dental organizations get $45K donation for oral care access to underserved communities

FOX 2 (WJBK) - Dental care is health care. Unfortunately- not everyone has access.

"Access to care includes many factors including the ability to afford the cost of care and the ability to have the flexibility to take time off of work," said Mert Aksu, UDM School of Dentistry.

According to the CDC about 1 in 4 adults have untreated tooth decay, 40 percent of low-income adults have untreated cavities, and nearly half of those ages 30 and older show signs of gum disease.

This can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, and even dementia. It's why there are ongoing efforts to provide accessible oral health care services to at-risk individuals in Detroit.

"We're one of the largest dental providers in the City of Detroit," Aksu said. "We take care of 14,000 patients of record plus or minus."

"We treat patients in underserved areas regardless of if they have payment or not," said Olivia Croom, Central City Health.

Aksu, and Croom represent the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry and Central City Health, respectively. Both organizations- were awarded money for their efforts.

"This $45,000 is just the tip of the iceberg," said Joanne Sciuto.

Dentaquest which provides dental benefits, recently donated $45,000 to Michigan organizations that help increase oral health care access and education among underserved communities.

Sciuto is the associate vice president of client engagement, at Michigan Region Dentaquest.

"It's hard for children to get appointments its hard for parents to get them to the appointments," Sciuto said.

On average, the CDC says 34 million school hours are lost each year due to dental emergencies.

It's why Central City Health is launching a mobile dental program for schools and community events across Detroit and Wayne County

"We're just doing preventive care, doing cleanings, exams, screenings things like that," Croom said. "But what we are hoping to get to, is to be able to do everything - fillings, if they need crowns different things like that, on-site - very important."

Dentaquests' contribution to Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry is helping to support a mix of school-based mobile programs and student-run dental clinics.

"The funding from Dentaquest Foundation allows us to do what we do in the communities," Aksu said.

Spreading happiness through oral health is something we can all smile about.