November 12, 2008

Earn Your Wings
Join your colleagues as we build the ADHA Toothfairy Campaign! On behalf of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) and the National Children’s Oral Health Foundation (NCOHF), we invite all dental hygienists to “earn your wings” by participating in this collaborative effort to raise awareness and funds to support direct delivery of education, preventive treatment, and comprehensive oral health services to our nation's most at-risk children. We can all be proud of our dental hygiene community, which continues to be a leader in the effort to develop solutions to this national health crisis. A strong show of support to the Toothfairy Campaign will help thousands of children and show our deep commitment to improve the quality of life for every economically disadvantaged child.
 
For every $25 you donate to the Toothfairy Campaign, your name will be entered into a drawing to win a pair of Orascoptic loupes (valued at $1,425 each). Chances of winning are multiplied because drawings will be held in each ADHA District that reaches a minimum of $2,000 in contributions before the end of 2008. One-hundred percent of your desperately needed contribution will be used to support pediatric oral health.

To make a donation, visit: http://www.ncohf.org/RDHToothfairy.php or call 1-800-559-9838 (8:30-5:30 Monday-Friday Eastern Time).

Join your colleagues as we build the Dental Hygienist fund of the Toothfairy Campaign!

Thank you for helping children eat, sleep, learn, thrive and have something to smile about this Thanksgiving!

Who is a HYGIENIST HERO™?
YOU are. Dental hygienists are an integral part of the dental team, and go above and beyond daily clinical practice. You are a dental hygienist who donates time to charities to enhance oral health care in your community. You are an inspiration to all.

In appreciation of your extraordinary efforts, the American Dental Hygienists’ Association has created a recognition program to honor your efforts. This program is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., maker of LISTERINE® Antiseptic and REACH® Brands. We want to recognize YOU, registered dental hygienist, for the efforts you have championed to raise awareness for oral health care.

Find out how you can be the next HYGIENIST HERO™!

Be part of the HYGIENIST HERO Recognition Program from the American Dental Hygienists’ Association and Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products. The next round of honorees for the HYGIENIST HERO™ program will be recognized at the 2009 ADHA Annual Session, Washington, DC, June 16-24, 2009.

For complete information, visit: http://www.jjdentalprofessional.com/global/hygienist-hero.html 

SMILE! To Delta Dental and National Head Start Association, It’s Worth $10,000 
OAK BROOK, IL (October 27, 2008) – Delta Dental Plans Association recently launched “The 10,000 Smiles Project” and aims to collect 10,000 photos of people smiling on its unique microsite at www.10000smilesproject.com  When the 10,000th photo is uploaded, Delta Dental Plans Association will donate $10,000 to the National Head Start Association, its designated philanthropic partner.

“Delta Dental Plans Association created this project as a fun and creative way for people to help us support the National Head Start Association and the young children it serves,” says Tom Dolatowski, marketing vice president at Delta Dental Plans Association.  
 
“As a social media experiment, it takes advantage of the internet to reach out to individuals across the U.S. and encourage them to upload smiling photos of themselves, their children, friends, family, and coworkers,” adds Dolatowski.  “And then, we hope, they will forward their personal user page to friends, family, and coworkers, so they will add their photos too and help us reach our 10,000 smile goal.”
 
Social media, in this case, refers to Delta Dental’s unique microsite where people can share their photos, and stories about those photos, as a community.  Social media in a broader context refers to online tools that empower people to engage in conversation and contribute to the collaborative process of content creation. Internet forums, weblogs, wikis, and social media applications such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube are all good examples of social media networks.

The 10,000 Smiles Project builds upon Delta Dental Plans Association’s existing partnership with the National Head Start Association.  In 2007, the two organizations formed a special alliance to help improve the oral health of some of the nation’s youngest children at a critical time in their development.
 
Head Start helps the children of low-income families by providing early childhood development services to promote school readiness.  These services, such as dental and health care, immunization, social services and a focus on parental involvement make Head Start one of the most successful pre-school programs in the country.
 
Delta Dental Plans Association and its member companies already support Head Start with volunteer efforts, financial donations, tools, and resources including oral health curriculum and education, supplies, screenings, and preventive care.
 
The not-for-profit Delta Dental Plans Association (www.deltadental.com) based in Oak Brook, Ill., is the leading national network of 39 independent dental service corporations specializing in providing dental benefits programs to 51 million Americans in more than 93,000 employee groups throughout the country.

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