Approximately 58 million people in the United States live in areas with a dental care worker shortage, and only 32.4% of the population has access to adequate dental care. The nonprofit America’s ToothFairy is working to change that by providing educational programs and preventative care in areas without sufficient dental care workers, and improving access to oral health care for children in underserved areas.
A young boy learns how to remove cavities at the Piedmont Regional Dental Clinic (PRDC) in Orange, Va. PRDC is one of 52 nonprofit dental clinics and hundreds of other organizations that receive free educational materials from American ToothFairy to teach underserved communities how to prevent dental disease.
Jill Malmgren, executive director of ToothFairy USA, explains: “Dental disease is often preventable, yet many oral health initiatives prioritize restorative care over prevention. This results in a cycle of drills, fillings and extractions, with children only undergoing costly invasive procedures when they are in severe pain.”
To break this cycle, America’s ToothFairy supports local volunteers, oral health advocates and dental professionals through its Health Education Resources and Outreach (HERO) program. This initiative provides them with oral health education materials and outreach kits. Their goal is to educate children and caregivers about the importance of oral hygiene and effective strategies to prevent dental disease.
Malmgren added, “Since 2020, with the support of Align Technology, we have developed innovative ways for oral health educators to provide families with important information to develop healthy dental hygiene habits at home. We emphasize the importance of regular dental checkups.”
During the organization’s fiscal year 2024, which ended June 30, the HERO program positively impacted more than 900,000 kids and parents, including:
Reached more than 600,000 children (33,500 of whom speak a language other than English) through downloadable resources at AmericasToothFairy.org, educated 43,250 children with ToothFairy 101® Community Education Kits distributed to educators, public health workers and oral health professionals, and reached approximately 268,000 people through two sponsored awareness campaigns that included educational materials and social media kits.
“A vibrant, healthy smile makes a lasting impact on a child’s life,” said Julie Paulsen, vice president of philanthropy, inclusion and wellness at Align Technology and secretary of the U.S. ToothFairy board of directors. “Align is honored to partner with U.S. ToothFairy in our joint effort to provide families and caregivers in underserved communities with the resources they need to prevent dental disease and improve oral health in children.”
Align Technology has supported America’s ToothFairy as a corporate sponsor since 2007. Since 2019, they have served as title sponsor of the HERO program, helping the program reach an estimated 2.7 million children, caregivers and parents.
About America’s Tooth Fairy: National Children’s Oral Health Foundation
As a resource provider, America’s ToothFairy improves access to oral health by supporting nonprofit clinics and community partners that provide education, prevention and treatment services to underserved children. Since 2006, America’s ToothFairy has provided oral health services to 14.8 million children and parents and distributed millions in donated products, educational materials and grants to improve oral health outcomes for children and youth in need. For more information, visit AmericasToothFairy.org.
About Align Technology, Inc.
Align Technology designs and manufactures the Invisalign system, the world’s most advanced clear aligner system, iTero intraoral scanners and services, and exocad CAD/CAM software. These technology building blocks power digital orthodontic and restorative workflows, improving patient outcomes and practice efficiencies for its 266,000+ physician clients and key to Align’s access to a global market opportunity of 600 million consumers. Over the past 27 years, Align has helped physicians treat more than 18.2 million patients with the Invisalign system and is driving the evolution of digital dentistry through the Align Digital Platform, a unique, integrated suite of proprietary technologies and services delivered as a seamless end-to-end solution for patients and consumers, orthodontists and general dentists, and labs/partners. For more information, please visit www.aligntech.com.
For more information about the Invisalign system or to find an Invisalign doctor in your area, visit www.invisalign.com. For more information about the iTero digital scanning system, visit www.itero.com. For more information about exocad dental CAD/CAM products, or for a list of exocad reseller partners, visit www.exocad.com.
Invisalign, iTero, exocad, Align, Align Digital Platform, and iTero Lumina are trademarks of Align Technology, Inc.
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