Our Story

The CDA Foundation is founded with a single employee and a sole purpose – to make a lasting and positive impact on the lives of underserved Californians.

The Student Loan Repayment Grant program is launched. Since that time, grants have been awarded to 20 dentists working in community clinics. These dentists have provided oral health services to nearly 100,000 patients, with care valued at more than $25 million in communities where individuals would otherwise go without.

The Foundation partnered with the UCSF School of Dentistry and published evidence that dental caries could be prevented and managed through risk assessment, creating a paradigm shift in dental practice.

In collaboration with the California Society of Pediatric Dentistry, we created the Pediatric Oral Health Access Program® for underserved children. Nearly 400 dentists have been trained throughout the state; in turn, they have provided $35 million in care to more than 100,000 children.

We collaborated with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, District IX, to convene a panel of national experts to develop "Oral Health During Pregnancy and Early Childhood: Evidence-Based Guidelines for Health Professionals." These guidelines and educational resources provide information about best practices based on science.

Recognizing that more than 95% of Americans over 65 in long-term care facilities have unmet oral health needs, we developed the Senior Oral Health Training Project, which uses curriculum developed by the Pacific Center for Special Care to assist those caring for dependent adults.

The first CDA Cares event takes place, shining a light on the profound need for access to care. To date, these events have provided oral health services valued at more than $25.1 million and transformed the lives of more than 30,000 individuals. With tremendous attention from the media, policymakers and public, CDA Cares increases leverage for policy-making issues like adding adult Medi-Cal Dental back into the state's budget.

We developed the First Smiles - First 5 Education and Training Project that has trained nearly 13,000 dental providers on the newest science in early childhood caries.

Today, millions of Californians still experience barriers to care. With your support, we continue to build momentum and work toward lasting change for our state's most vulnerable citizens.