$7.0M in expenses

The Delta Dental Fund's (DDF) mission is to develop and enhance partnerships and programs to improve oral and overall health. The DDF has been committed to this purpose for over four decades. Over that time, millions of people have benefited from grants, programming, scholarships and continuing education programs provided by the DDF. Since it was established in 1980, the DDF has continually increased its efforts to achieve these goals in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina. In 2024, the DDF committed nearly $6.1 million in grants, scholarships, and educational resources, impacting more than 4.3 million lives in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana North Carolina and beyond. More than 354,000 educational brochures, flyers and posters, along with 351 miles of floss and 282,554 toothbrushes were donated to nonprofit organizations to disseminate in their communities. The DDF also began implementing a new strategic plan, which focuses on five strategic pillars-access to care, advocacy, education, emerging initiatives, and workforce development. Throughout the year, 72% of the programs funded most closely aligned with access to care, 15% with education, 11% with workforce development and 2% with advocacy and emerging initiatives. At the end of the day, access to care initiatives make up the majority of the requests. Tens of thousands of people need help getting dental care, and many safety-net clinics need training and equipment to offer those services. With one in twenty Americans living with an intellectual or developmental disability, oral health equity cannot be achieved until their needs are met. Through the DDF's Centers for Inclusive Dentistry program, 78 individuals at 12 safety-net dental clinics have been provided with the training and resources necessary to deliver high-quality dental treatment to people with disabilities. The DDF has partnered with NYU and Nisonger Center at Ohio State University to offer the training free of charge. Free virtual continuing education credits are also available to providers through Penn Dental as a result of DDF funding. In 2024, 50 nonprofit organizations received Community Mini-Grants, totaling $300,000. The DDF's Community Mini-grant Program provides grants of $10,000 or less to nonprofits that promote or provide oral health care and initiatives that align with the foundation's five strategic pillars. The DDF continued its support of the Victors for Veterans program with the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. The program provides free, comprehensive dental care to qualifying veterans, performed by third- and fourth-year dental interns, who gain valuable learning opportunities in community health settings. They also provide oral hygiene education to their patients. Through a partnership with TeamSmile, hundreds of children in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Detroit were provided with free dental care and oral health education. The events were held at professional sports stadiums and staffed by volunteer dental professionals. At the end of the day, when the events were done and the volunteers had gone home, the TeamSmile staff continued to find dental homes for the children who needed it. The dental workforce is experiencing an unprecedented staffing shortage, particularly with hygienists. In 2024, the DDF partnered with the American Dental Hygienists Association (ADHA) to create Hygienists Inspired, a chairside recruitment program. The program is designed to diversify and strengthen the hygiene profession by providing resources for practicing hygienists to recruit through meaningful chairside interactions with patients. The DDF and ADHA have identified at least three individuals in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana to serve as ambassadors to promote the profession. In conjunction with the Michigan Primary Care Association, the DDF convened oral health advocates from around the state of Michigan to hold its Third Annual Workforce Development Summit. Professional facilitators guided the discussion about strengthening the oral health safety net in Michigan. This initiative also convened throughout the year in sub-committees to continue focused development related to recruitment, career pathways, and workforce retention and environment. With grant funding from the DDF, the Institute for Exceptional Care formed an advisory committee composed of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) advocates, clinical educational experts and oral health professionals to determine how best to improve dental care delivery for patients with IDD. Collectively, the group will develop a dental-office toolkit to support pre-appointment preparation for patients with IDD. The DDF continued its longstanding partnership with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services by providing funding for the SEAL Michigan school-based sealant and Community Water Fluoridation programs. Support was also renewed for the Ohio Department of Health's Fluoridation Assistance program. The DDF's total grants have now exceeded $68 million since its inception. This funding has improved oral and overall health and health equity, helped students achieve their goals, and improved the well-being of millions of children and adults in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina. Empowered people and communities are critical to making creative solutions to systemic challenges possible-and that means supporting work by and for the communities being served. The DDF is committed to continuing and establishing strong two-way relationships with the people and organizations aligned with its aims.