W.K. Kellogg Foundation Expands Support for Dental Care for Vulnerable Youth

ADEA Minority Dental Faculty Development and Inclusion Program to
Grow

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) has awarded a $100,000 grant to the American
Dental Education Association Minority Dental Faculty Development and
Inclusion (ADEA MDFDI) program to continue diversity leadership
training for allied dental professionals, such as dental hygienists, in
an effort to address oral health disparities experienced by vulnerable
children and their communities. The funding completes a two-year grant.

The ADEA MDFDI program seeks to develop new, more diverse generations of
allied dental health professionals as a unique strategy to meet the
significant unmet need for dental care across the United States,
especially among children and adolescents.

“We know that patients from diverse ethnic, racial and socioeconomic
backgrounds are more likely to seek health care from a minority
provider,” said Richard W. Valachovic, D.M.D, M.P.H., ADEA President and
CEO. “That’s what this whole approach is about—ensuring these patients
have somewhere to go for dental care that meets their needs.”

In addition, trends show that health professionals from underserved
areas often return to those areas to practice. “This new funding from
the Kellogg Foundation simultaneously allows teams of dental
professionals to provide care to communities in need today and helps
create a dental workforce better prepared for tomorrow’s growing and
more diverse nation,” says Jeanne C. Sinkford, D.D.S., Ph.D., ADEA
Senior Scholar in Residence.

Over 108 million Americans lack dental insurance and thus access to
dental care—and children in underserved communities are
disproportionately affected by this epidemic. Untreated dental caries
(cavities) was more than twice as high for Hispanic children (26%) and
for non-Hispanic black adolescents ages 13–15 (25%) compared with
non-Hispanic white children and adolescents, respectively.

ADEA MDFDI partner schools, via more than 130 academic/community
collaborations, will work under the program to extend its efforts to
geographic areas with new or no existing dental schools. These new
partners will work hand-in-hand with dental and allied dental faculty to
provide dental and preventive care to children and adolescents in
underserved areas.

More information on the ADEA MDFDI program, including a free,
downloadable toolkit with academic leadership mentoring strategies, is
available here.

About ADEA: The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is
The Voice of Dental Education. Its members include all 76 U.S. and
Canadian dental schools, over 800 allied and advanced dental education
programs, 66 corporations and more than 20,000 individuals. The mission
of ADEA is to lead institutions and individuals in the dental education
community to address contemporary issues influencing education, research
and the delivery of oral health care for the overall health and safety
of the public. ADEA’s activities encompass a wide range of research,
advocacy, faculty development, meetings and communications, including
the esteemed Journal of Dental Education, as well as the dental
school admissions services ADEA AADSAS, ADEA PASS, ADEA DHCAS and ADEA
CAAPID. For more information about ADEA, visit adea.org.

About WKKF: The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930
as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will
Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the
United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an
equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create
conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full
potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Mich., and works
throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with
sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where
there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face
significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in
Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally,
are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.

Contacts

American Dental Education Association (ADEA)
Virginia Bader,
202-289-7197
baderv@adea.org