Vermont Business Magazine For the seventh consecutive year, the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation awarded a grant to the Vermont Head Start / Early Head Start programs to support the Vermont Head Start Tooth Tutor program. The grant award for FY2017 is $50,000. The grant period will operate from October 1, 2016 through September 30, 2017. For several years, the Tooth Tutor program had been funded by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, but this funding concluded in September 2009. The Vermont Head Start Association, which represents the seven Head Start programs in the state, was grateful when the Foundation provided the funding to keep this critically important oral health program operating since 2010.
The Foundation’s Director for Marketing and Communications, Kathleen Walker, APR, said, “This is an attractive funding opportunity for us because this program communicates effectively to children and their parents that oral health is important, both from the standpoint of preventive at-home care and the need for regular dental office visits. It’s very important to communicate this message to children early and often!” For 20 years, the Foundation has funded oral health programs in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Located in Concord, New Hampshire, with a sales office in Burlington, Northeast Delta Dental offers dental insurance programs for organizations of all sizes and for individuals and families that have no access to employer-sponsored dental benefits.
Paul Behrman, Director of Champlain Valley Head Start and Chair of the Vermont Head Start Association (VHSA) said, “Oral health care for young children – especially those from families with low income – continues to be an issue in Vermont. VHSA is delighted that Northeast Delta Dental Foundation continues to fund this critically important oral health program which has such a positive impact on the health of children served in Vermont’s Head Start programs.”
The Tooth Tutor program improves oral health outcomes for children from low income families served by Head Start. Registered dental hygienists – “Tooth Tutors” – work with Head Start children and families to assist in locating dental homes for children, provide oral health activities which help children become comfortable in going to the dentist, allay parents’ concerns or anxieties around going to the dentist, and work with local dental practices to help expedite dental exams and treatment for Head Start children.
Many community organizations support the Vermont Head Start/Early Head Start programs, including the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, which serves as the fiscal agent for the grant. Behrman said “I look forward to working with program partners, including the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation, as we continue with our mission to assure that Vermont’s most vulnerable young children have access to preventive, restorative and continuous oral health care.”
Source: 11.21.2016. CVOEO www.cvoeo.org