CDA Foundation

Sharing her own commitment to service with students at WesternU’s College of Dental Medicine, Dr. Watanabe’s efforts are influencing future dentists to be more compassionate and community-focused.

The CDA Foundation awarded Dr. Stone just over $103,000 in student loan repayment in exchange for her commitment to maintain an overall patient caseload of at least 30% Medi-Cal patients for at least two years in either a Dental Health Professional Shortage Area or an underserved worksite.

The Aug. 13 event brought together more than 50 volunteers to provide service to 67 Californians in need of oral health care. CDA Foundation looks forward to more Cares events in the future.

The CDA Foundation’s Student Loan Repayment Grant has been awarded annually since 2002. The two recipients of the 2021 grant are Sogole Tabatabaiepur, DDS, and Jose Carrasco Sandoval, DDS.

The CDA Foundation hosted the clinic at Northern Valley Indian Health. With the support of 31 volunteers, including the NVIH staff, dentists were able to safely perform 271 procedures, such as fillings, cleanings and extractions, for a total of $28,211 in care.

“There are people in my community who will tell you that the Well-Being Program is probably the most important benefit they’ve received as a CDA member,” said Matthew Korn, DDS, chair of the CDA Well-Being Committee. The program assists dental community members who suffer from alcohol or chemical dependency or both.

Elisa Chavez, DDS, professor of diagnostic sciences and director of the Pacific Center for Special Care at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, has received the California Dental Association Foundation’s Dugoni Faculty Award for 2020. 

After a two-month delay resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, 11 individuals had their smiles restored safely at a small, volunteer-run event held Sept. 26 at the Children’s Dental Health Clinic in Long Beach. The CDA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the California Dental Association, organized the event.

From a young age, Matthew Mecheal, DDS, has been sure about two things: his passion for helping others and his love for dentistry. Through the years, he never lost sight of his goals or the values that were instilled in him many years ago. As an advocate for the underserved and this year’s recipient of the CDA Foundation’s Student Loan Repayment Grant, Dr. Mecheal plans to focus on his personal objective to improve the oral health of underserved communities and minimize barriers to care.

Thousands of patients and volunteers flocked to the National Orange Show Events Center at the CDA Foundation’s 16th CDA Cares volunteer dental clinic to receive and provide dental care at no cost. Dentists and dental professionals performed 10,412 procedures, including fillings, extractions and cleanings, providing $1.46 million in care to 1,626 people. The event took place Sept. 27-28 in San Bernardino for the first time.

Catherine’s dental phobia was once so severe that dental advertisements or even passing a dental office could trigger a panic attack. Worse, her debilitating phobia kept her from seeing a dentist for over 10 years. Eventually, she developed a life-threatening oral infection and lived with it for over a year and a half. “I was in pain, but I was too scared to receive care,” said Catherine, a resident of Bakersfield, Calif.

In 2010, Vanessa Franks, DDS, became the 11th recipient of the CDA Foundation’s Student Loan Repayment Grant — a flagship program that aims to offset some of the financial burden of student loan debt in exchange for a three-year commitment by recipients to care for the underserved. Describing herself as “a natural caretaker with a strong inherent motivation to enrich the lives of others,” Dr. Franks said a career in public health had been a longtime goal.