Grant Will Help Expand Access to Dental Care in Waltham

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass.—Jan. 13, 2020—The Massachusetts Dental Society (MDS) Foundation has awarded a total of nearly $100,000 in “Expanding Access to Dental Care” grants to six organizations in Massachusetts. The goal of the grants is to improve the oral health of residents of the Commonwealth by supporting sustainable programs that improve access to dental care.

The Forsyth Institute in Cambridge, on behalf of the ForsythKids Program, has been awarded $15,000 to help incorporate the Waltham Public School System into its care network. The ForsythKids portable dental program provides preventive oral health care and education to underserved children throughout the Commonwealth. This expansion adds 10 new project sites and approximately 300 new patients.

For the past 17 years, the ForsythKids mobile dental program has actively sought out patient populations who tend to have poorer oral health and more significant challenges to accessing dental care: children living in poverty, communities of color, and patients with disabilities. The ForsythKids staff can set up a functioning dental office with up to five chairs in almost any space, including a school stage, gymnasium, or resource room.

In 2020, the ForsythKids Program plans to serve more than 3,000 infants, children, teens, and young adults, ages 0-25, in Boston, Cambridge, Cape Cod, Chelsea, Fitchburg, Holyoke, Hull, Randolph, Somerville, and Waltham. More than 90 percent of the children served live in poverty, and one-third present with cavities at their first visit. While the majority of clinical sites are school-based, the program also serves youth in transitional housing facilities, as well as a center for teen moms and babies, a day shelter for homeless teens, and a residential housing facility for children under the custody of the Department of Children and Families.

“In recent years, the support of the MDS Foundation has allowed us to focus on children who are recent immigrants to the United States with specific emphasis on Lynn and Somerville,” said ForsythKids Program Director Dr. Kerry Maguire. “With the continued support of the MDS Foundation and this new grant, ForsythKids will be able to serve students in Waltham Public Schools, where more than 54 percent are considered high-needs students.

“The integration of the Waltham Public School System into the ForsythKids Program is our most ambitious expansion to date,” Dr. Maguire continued. “It is unlikely that we could care for as many children without the generosity of the MDS Foundation.”

“Because of the generosity of MDS Foundation donors, we are able to assist programs like ForsythKids in its efforts to improve the overall health of many Massachusetts residents who ordinarily might not receive care,” said MDS Foundation Chair Dr. Robert Lewando. “It is our hope that our Foundation will continue to grow so we can help sponsor additional services that will most benefit communities in need.”

Visit massdental.org/grant-recipients to learn more about the Foundation’s grant recipients.

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The MDS Foundation is the charitable arm of the Massachusetts Dental Society. The MDS Foundation is dedicated to directing its charitable resources to improve the oral health of Massachusetts residents. To learn more, visit massdental.org/Foundation.