Dear frienDs of oha,

Oral Health America just released

our 2010 Annual Report, available

at www.oralhealthamerica.org/

annualrePort. OHA is thriving and

returned 76 cents on every dollar

donated to our programs. We met

our goal to seal 1,000,000 teeth and

doubled that commitment for 2020;

received seed funding to launch a

program for older adults and their

caring connectors; and initiated Fall for

Smiles with the Dental Trade Alliance.

Contact Christine for a hard copy of

OHA’s Report at:

christines@oralhealthamerica.org

and thank you for your involvement!

With gratitude for your continued support,

For the 2011/2012 school year, Smiles Across

America® (SAA) is proud to welcome four

new sites into the SAA family. The Community

Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Smiles

Across Pinal County in Arizona, Oral Health

Across the Commonwealth in Springfield,

Mass., and CHS Healthcare, Inc. SAA is

supported by Trident, the Patterson Foundation

and Plackers dental flossers.

Two of these sealant programs, Smiles Across

Pinal County and CHS Healthcare, Inc. are

brand new and are affiliated with dental

schools: Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral

Health at A.T. Still University and University of

Florida College of Dentistry. The programs in

Springfield and Southeast Kansas have already

made an impact in their communities, and the

SAA grants will allow them to provide services

to more children that otherwise do not get

routine dental care.

The Community Health Center of Southeast

Kansas is able to reach a large number of

students in rural communities where access

to care is a major issue. Oral Health Across

the Commonwealth, Tufts University School

of Dental Medicine’s school-based preventive

services program, will expand to provide

care to children at 24 school-based sites in

the Greater Springfield area because of its

involvement with SAA.

Oral Health America looks forward to

bringing many more healthy mouths to life

with our new SAA partners.

oral health americaBriNgiNg healthY moUthS to liFe

SPriNg 2011

Smiles Across America® Welcomes New Sites in Kansas, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Florida

“We now have the closest thing to the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval that one can get in the dental world”

oralhealthamerica.org

-Krista Postai, CEO, Community Health Center of

Southeast Kansas

President and CEO

Oral Health America (OHA) is honored to be the recipient of a $145,000 DentaQuest Foundation grant award for the development of OHA’s

Wisdom Tooth Project® supporting two of OHA’s

five strategies: a communications campaign, and

research into the development of a web portal for

older adults and their caring connectors.

Throughout the spring, OHA convened

stakeholder groups, and interviewed subject

matter experts, including geriatric professionals

and long term care facility administrators,

to gather feedback on target audiences, key

messages, content priorities, and to develop

a shared leadership model for the portal’s

development and management.

oha gets reaDy to fall for smiles®

wisDom tooth Project®—strategies in motion to imProve the oral health of olDer aDults

Fall for Smiles®, Oral Health America’s annual campaign, a partnership with Oral

Healthcare Can’t Wait, an initiative of the Dental

Trade Alliance, will kick off September 1 and run until

October 31. The campaign promotes awareness of

vital oral health habits, including the importance of

self-care, healthy eating habits, routine dental visits

and no tobacco use.

Last year, Fall for Smiles gained over 430 million

audience impression through more than 700 media

placements. Become a Fall for Smiles marketing

partner or sponsor and help Oral Health America

spread the message even further in 2011. There are

many ways to participate including a smile contest,

social media networking opportunities, press releases, letters to the editor, coloring sheets and posters.

Visit www.oralhealthamerica.org/fallforsmiles to find all the resources and to learn more. Thank you to

the Fall for Smiles sponsors who make the campaign possible. To date: Aspen Dental, Dental Trade Alliance, DentaQuest,

Hispanic Dental Association, Ivoclar Vivadent, Midmark, OralDNA Labs, Patterson Dental, Plackers dental flossers.

“We are able to identify common themes in the conversations we

had about messaging and the kinds of information people are looking for and not

finding online,” said Liz Rogers, Vice President, OHA. “One of our next steps is to

begin identifying local resources and opportunities so that our target audiences

can find the tools they need in their area to care for an older adult or help facilitate

improved oral health.”

StaY tUNed to

www.oralhealthamerica.org

for more updates throughout the summer!

After seeing an advertisement for Smiles Across

America® (SAA) and Trident on TV, Beth Wise decided to

find out more about the program for her work as Mission Director at

Centennial Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kimberton, PA. Every few

months she presents a different mission to the children who attend

Sunday school at the church and they bring what they can every week to

contribute to a worthy cause.

“I selected Smiles Across America because I thought it would be something

the kids could absolutely relate to and they did,” Beth said. “They really get

excited when they can help kids.”

From January to March of this year, the group of 30 kids raised money

for SAA by doing extra chores, digging into their piggy banks, and asking

others for donations. By the end of March, they had collected $200, which

Beth said, “is like a $1 million. It’s such a big deal for them.”

OHA thanks the Sunday school children at Centennial Evangelical Lutheran

Church for their generous and thoughtful gift.

oralhealthamerica.org410 N. michigan avenue, Suite 352 | chicago, il 60611

t: (312) 836-9900 | F: (312) 836-9986

Oral Health America hosted its 21st annual Gala and Benefit this February at Chicago’s Field Museum, raising

nearly $500,000 to help support programs

that help bring access to oral health care and

education to Americans of all ages. At this

year’s event, OHA paid special tribute to the

companies and organizations that have donated

over $1 million since OHA’s inception. They

are: American Dental Association, DENTSPLY

International, Henry Schein, Procter & Gamble,

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., W. K. Kellogg Foundation,

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and our

newest million dollar donor, Trident®.

oha says “thanks a million” at its 21st annual gala anD benefit

Three new members recently joined Oral Health America’s Board of Directors: George Tysowsky, Vice President, Technology, Ivoclar Vivadent, Inc.; Caswell Evans, DDS, MPH, Associate Dean for Prevention and Public Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago; and Victor Rodriguez, DDS, Clear Lake Dental Associates in Houston and a

past president of the Hispanic Dental Association.

OHA also welcomed new staff members:

Christine Spencer, Administrative Assistant;

and Ben Anders, Programs and Communications

Coordinator.

introDucing our new boarD anD staff members

kiDs helP kiDs by Donating to smiles across america®

FROM OUR SUPPORTERS

“I donate yearly to OHA, because I believe in giving back to an industry that has been very good to me. I also believe in donating to organizations that are doing positive things for people, and OHA does such.”

- Norman Weinstock

“We appreciate and admire the strides Oral Health America has made to improve access to quality oral health care nationwide. We take great pride in our partnership with OHA and look forward to our continued work together to positively impact those most in need.”

- Dr. James S. ColeDean, Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry

Oral Health America is a registered 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization.

Your gift is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

donate today at

www.oralhealthamerica.org

410 North Michigan Ave. Ste. 352Chicago, Illinois 60611-42111

bringing healthy mouths to life sPring newsletter www.oralhealthamerica.org

NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE

PAID CHICAGO, IL

PERMIT NO. 7228

oral health america Smile4health