Dental

Proper dental care is crucial for people to sustain a healthy and active lifestyle.  Unfortunately, many Californians are not receiving regular dental care. With the cost of health insurance on the rise, more and more individuals are unable to afford adequate dental care.  While the United States spends more money on healthcare than most industrialized countries, nearly forty-seven million Americans are uninsured. In 2004, over 50% of children who were uninsured did not visit the dentist in the past year for financial reasons. Poor oral health can be detrimental to an individual’s overall health and well being. If left untreated, oral disease can lead to difficulties in everyday simple tasks such as sleeping, eating, and speaking.  Consequences of poor dental care can range from tooth discomfort all the way to chronic health problems such as gum disease and even oral cancer if the proper steps of prevention are not taken.  Most impoverished families cannot afford to pay for dental work out of their own pockets and their dental needs are left unmet.

Change a Life Foundation believes that every individual deserves the opportunity to have access to adequate health resources. One of the Foundation’s goals is to help individuals who are experiencing dental problems as a result of injury, accidents or genetics, through no fault of their own, to get the dental care they need. Change a Life Foundation collaborates with non-profit organizations from throughout the central and southern California regions to provide grants for dental health needs such as emergency root canals, dentures for the elderly, oral surgery and orthodontia for children in foster care.

Change a Life Foundation understands the impact that poor dental health can have on individuals. Not only does it affect your physical health, but it also can affect your self-esteem and ability to live healthy and productive lives.  The Foundation is determined to continue their mission to make dental care a priority and help provide dental services to those who need it most. In 2007, Change a Life Foundation helped 55 individuals with 55 grants totaling $198,548 in allocations for dental services.