Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation Announces More Than $1.57 Million in Grants in NJ to Improve Oral Health Among At-Risk Populations and Support Workforce Development in Dental Care

Forty Organizations Receive Grants, Benefitting More Than 24,500 Individuals and Families

PARSIPPANY, NJ – September 11, 2024—The Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of New Jersey (DDNJ), has announced that 40 organizations will receive more than $1.57 million in grant funding to the benefit of more than 24,500 individuals and families throughout New Jersey. The grants seek to improve the oral care of uninsured and underinsured populations in the state, as well as support workforce development programs assisting students entering dental careers.

The funding will reach nearly all 21 of New Jersey’s counties through a range of SMILE and SMILE Workforce grants to help maintain the dental health of seniors, developmentally disabled adults and children, disadvantaged children, and veterans. This year, a special series of Workforce grants were funded to renew or start programs addressing the dental workforce pipeline, specifically relating to dental assistants, which has experienced a severe shortage during recent years. According to the New Jersey Dental Association, there are more job openings in dental offices than there are people to fill them.

“Our Foundation focuses on supporting programs that address oral health care challenges, which help improve access to dental care and education for New Jersey residents,” said Dennis G. Wilson, president and CEO of Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut and vice president of the Delta Dental Foundation. “A healthy smile is invaluable to our overall health, our self-esteem, and our relationships. We remain committed to our communities and our belief that everyone deserves a healthy smile.”

$653,000 in SMILE Grants and SMILE Mini Grants were provided to 25 state-based organizations to address oral care among at-risk populations. SMILE Workforce grants, in the amount of $923,495, were provided to 17 New Jersey entities.  Several of the organizations received funding for both grant programs.

Notable recipients include:

• Foundation for Morristown Medical will receive $95,000 for its Senior Smiles, Developmental Disabilities, and Healthy Children oral health care programs.
• KinderSmile Foundation’s Workforce Development of Public Health Dentistry Through Career Promotion and Mentorship program will receive $100,000 to support dental assisting students at Mercer County Community College and other dental assisting institutions.
• County College of Morris will receive $100,000 to support a program director who will develop the new dental assisting (and dental hygiene) programs at their to-be-built state-of-the-art Center for Health Professions.
• Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Coastal & Northern NJ will receive $10,000 to help bring preventive dental education to 1,000 Littles between the ages of 6-18 (and their families) enrolled in programs in Bergen, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren counties.

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About Delta Dental

Delta Dental of New Jersey, Inc. is New Jersey's leading dental benefits company, providing or administering coverage to more than 1.9 million people through contracts with groups and individuals in New Jersey and Connecticut. In Connecticut, Delta Dental of Connecticut, Inc. is a licensed insurer that writes dental and vision coverage on an insured basis, and Delta Dental of New Jersey administers self-funded dental benefit programs.

Offering dental benefits since 1969, Delta Dental of New Jersey's mission is to promote oral health to the greatest number of people by providing accessible dental benefit programs of the highest quality, service, and value. We are a not-for-profit service corporation and, as a member of Delta Dental Plans Association, we're part of a network that provides national dental coverage to more than 90 million people. For more information, visit DeltaDentalNJ.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Jackie Zygadlo, MWW
(201) 231-6035, jzygadlo@mww.com

Kim Elmore, Delta Dental of New Jersey
(973) 534-9682, kelmore@deltadentalnj.com