Dental Aid Clinic - dentalaid.org » Dental Aid Clinic USA

Dental Aid Facts

Our History

* Founded in 1974, Dental Aid was the first not-for-profit comprehensive dental clinic in the United States.
* Dental Aid serves low-income and uninsured Front Range residents.
* Dental Aid has three clinics located in Boulder, Longmont, and Louisville and a satellite clinic located in the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless.
* In 2009, Dental Aid provided 8,389 individual children and adults with high-quality, comprehensive preventive and restorative dental care during nearly 20,000 visits.
* In 2010, Dental Aid projects to exceed an annual budget of $3.5 million.
* Dental Aid’s patient fees are approximately half of the usual and customary fees in our area.
* Dental Aid accepts Medicaid and Child Health Plus (CHP+), but also works with uninsured patients to ensure everyone has access to oral health care regardless of their ability to pay.



Our Programs

* Marcie’s Fund for Uninsured Children provides comprehensive oral health care for uninsured low- income children who might otherwise go without. In 2009, Dental Aid subsidized the market value of more than $140,000 of oral health care through Marcie’s Fund, allowing 437 uninsured children to receive the care they needed.
* Bright Smiles for Bright Futures provides pregnant women with the dental and education services needed to foster healthy pregnancies and healthy children. In 2009, Bright Smiles subsidized the market value of more than $350,000 of oral health care for 492 pregnant women and their children.
* Adult Assured Access provides elderly, disabled, and medically at-risk adults with the comprehensive oral health care needed to remain healthy. In 2009, Adult Uninsured subsidized the market value of more than $210,000 of oral health care for 277 adults.



Our Research

* Dental Aid is conducting a three-year research study to determine the effectiveness of using Xylitol (a sweetener shown to kill cavity-causing bacteria) to decrease the transmission of cavity-causing bacteria from mother to child.
* Mothers participating in the study have their bacterial levels monitored for one year and compared with mothers who declined to use Xylitol. The oral health status of children born to participating women are monitored from ages 1 through 3, and are compared with the oral health status of mothers who declined to use Xylitol. At the end of three years, Dental Aid plans to produce a research paper containing publishable, peer-reviewed data in a journal as yet to be determined.