ADA News

Daytona Beach, Fla.—Setting the pace for 11 oral health education events in the NASCAR Nation, No. 16 3M Ford Fusion driver Greg Biffle was at the Daytona International Speedway Feb. 21-24 to kick off the 2013 Give Kids A Smile/NASCAR season.

Ivoclar Vivadent has made a three-year, $500,000 commitment to Oral Health America, a national nonprofit organization with a mission to educate Americans about the importance of mouth health to overall health and well-being. 

Cleveland—Patients in dental chairs at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine are seeing something new these days: a nurse.

Philadelphia—Building on its interprofessional programs, Penn Dental Medicine has expanded its dual-degree options to include a joint DMD/JD degree with Penn Law, the school announced Feb. 27.   

Washington—Limited oral health literacy is associated with inaccurate knowledge about preventive measures such as water fluoridation, dental care visits and oral health-related quality of life, the policy advisory Institute of Medicine said in a report. "For example, nationally only '44 percent of adults with less than basic health literacy skills had a dental visit in the preceding year compared with 77 percent of those with proficient health literacy skills'." 

Washington—Insurers must offer pediatric dental coverage as an essential health benefit beginning in 2014, but consumers shopping through the new insurance exchanges won't necessarily have to buy it. 

Atlanta—Registration is open for the U.S. National Oral Health Alliance's fifth leadership colloquium April 2-3.  

Princeton, N.J.—The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has issued a call for applications for the 2013 Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program.

The ADA Commission on Dental Accreditation has announced that the proposed standards for dental therapy education programs will be released for public comment in the coming weeks.

Since the establishment of the Give Kids A Smile Fund in 2007, the ADA Foundation has made grants in excess of $1 million to support GKAS observances nationwide.