‘Tis the season…to give!  One of our favorite parts of the holiday season is the opportunity to give back to those in need.  We believe that everyone deserves a healthy smile and access to oral health care. That’s why we’ve partnered with Dental Lifeline Network and their Donated Dental Services (DDS) to help people in our community receive the dental care they need.  This is a program we support at Falmouth Dental Arts and have also contributed to through Dr. Knock’s always amazing Dancing with the Dentists.  In the spirit of the Season of Giving, we wanted to share more about this incredible organization with you this month.

Donated Dental Services provides free, comprehensive dental treatment to the country’s most vulnerable people with disabilities, and to those who are elderly or medically fragile. These are people who cannot afford necessary treatment and cannot get public aid. The program operates through a volunteer network of more than 15,000 dentists and 3,700 dental labs across the United States. Since its inception in 1985, the DDS program has surpassed $330 million in donated dental therapies, transforming the lives of 117,000 people.

In Maine, the program has had an amazing impact.  Some numbers for you:

• 177 volunteer dentists
• 36 volunteer laboratories
• $3.5 million in donated treatments
• 1,161 dental patients treated since 1999

If you’d like to contribute to Donated Dental Services, they are always in need dental professionals to volunteer their time, and rely on financial contributions to make more treatments possible.  To make a donation, you can visit their website. Your donation will help provide comprehensive care to those who need it most.

Thank you for being a part of the FDA family and for helping us celebrate the Season of Giving!  We hope you have a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends!

*Image courtesy of www.shutterstock.com