CDA Cares provides $1.3M in free dental care

The California Dental Association Foundation's free dental clinic, CDA Cares, provided more than $1.3 million in charitable dental services during the two-day event held August 24-25 in Sacramento.

The California Dental Association Foundation and the CDA hosted the clinic to provide oral health services and education to Californians who experience barriers to care.

Presenting sponsors Benco Dental and Carestream Dental, as well as premier sponsors Patterson Dental, Straine Dental Consulting, and Capital Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, with many other supporters, provided supplies and materials to help put together a successful event.

More than 1,300 volunteers donated their time and services at the event, including more than 600 health professionals -- dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, nurses, and lab technicians -- as well as hundreds of community volunteers who assisted with registration, translation, data entry, and escorting patients.

As the final number of procedures provided at CDA Cares is being tallied, preliminary estimates indicate more than 2,000 tooth extractions were necessary. Dentists and dental professionals provided cleanings, fillings, extractions, oral health education, and assistance in finding a dental home. Volunteer technicians in the clinic's dental lab area worked to provide 201 full and partial dentures.

"The demand for dental care was tremendous, and we are thrilled that CDA Cares was able to provide essential oral healthcare services to 2,026 people," said CDA President Dan Davidson, DMD. "I'm saddened by the high number of extractions -- many that could have been avoided with preventive care, which reinforces our belief that California needs a state dental director and an appropriate safety net of public oral health programs to improve the oral health of underserved Californians."

The California Dental Association Foundation is planning another CDA Cares event in the Bay Area in early 2013.