The Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation announced its largest-ever total grant awards on Tuesday. The foundation distributed $950,000 to 14 organizations across the state focused on improving oral health.
Delta Dental of Virginia is one of many independent Delta Dental companies operating charitable foundations across the country. The independent companies in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, New Jersey and Virginia each have a charitable foundation.
These grants support safety-net organizations that serve residents who are uninsured or receive Medicaid and other educational initiatives that work to expand access to dental care and address workforce shortages.
Virginia faces a significant shortage of dentists and hygienists, with 103 of the state’s 133 localities designated as dental health professional shortage areas, according to a report by the Virginia Health Catalyst, a statewide coalition focused on improving oral health access.
More than 2 million Virginians are affected by the shortages, according to December 2024 data from KFF, a nonprofit health policy research organization.
Additionally, Virginia doesn’t have enough dentists serving uninsured, underinsured or Medicaid-insured patients.
Only 9% of Virginia’s dentists and 6% of dental hygienists practice in safety-net settings, such as free and charitable clinics and federally qualified health centers. A small number of nonprofit clinics provide care to uninsured, underinsured or Medicaid-insured patients.
There are 63 free clinics in Virginia and 31 federally qualified health centers with more than 200 locations across the state.
This year’s grant recipients:
- Appalachian Highlands Community Dental Center (Mission Dental Virginia Inc., Abingdon): Supports a capital expansion that will add 2,500 additional square feet to house a future denture lab.
- Arlington Free Clinic: Supports workforce expansion and access to dental services with funds to help subsidize the addition of one full-time dental hygienist.
- Bland Ministry Center: Supports construction costs for an educational meeting room to provide continuing education and host local dental-field students through community partnerships.
- Bradley Free Clinic (Roanoke): Provides stipends, dental supplies, housing and meals for Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry students, as well as salary support for the dental assistant and preceptor working with students.
- Charlottesville Free Clinic: Subsidizes employment costs for the clinic’s dentist.
- Child Health Investment Partnership (Roanoke): Supports a bilingual care coordinator providing oral health education and dental/medical case management to enrolled children and adults.
- CrossOver Ministry Inc. (Richmond): Supports a new part-time dental hygienist and a full-time bilingual dental assistant.
- The Fauquier Free Clinic (Warrenton): Supports the salary of a new part-time dentist.
- Free Clinic of Powhatan: Subsidizes the salary of a part-time dentist.
- Germanna Community College (Fredericksburg): Supports faculty salaries and provides scholarships to new students enrolled in Germanna Community College and Mountain Empire Community College’s Dental Assisting II program.
- HELP Inc. (Hampton Ecumenical Lodging and Provisions): Supports efforts to integrate 3D printing technology into clinic services to make affordable dentures, night guards and crowns for patients.
- New Horizons Healthcare (Kuumba Community Health and Wellness Center, Roanoke): Helps underwrite the salary of a new dentist.
- Medical College of Virginia Foundation (Richmond): Adds equipment and furnishings to serve patients with special health care needs and train future oral health practitioners on inclusive dentistry best practices.
- Northern Neck Middlesex Free Health Clinic (Kilmarnock): Recruits and provides partial salary support for a full- or part-time dentist.
