Program areas at VDAF
Donated Dental services (dds) program - through the efforts of 369 volunteer dentists and specialists and 102 Dental laboratories, 236 low-income senior citizens, adults with disabilities, and others with special needs received pro bono Dental care valued at over $388,391 through the donated Dental services (dds) program in 2023.
Give kids a smile! (gkas) program - an initative of the american Dental Association, gkas offers oral health education to all children while providing free and restorative care to those who need it most. The vdaf serves as a resource for event coordinators across the commonwealth, aggregates results of outreach efforts, and communicates these results to stakeholders at the state and national levels. More than 1,200 children received education and Dental treatment valued at over $155,000 through the program in 2023.
Mission of mercy (mom) program - launched in 2000, the mission of mercy program operates multiple mobile pop-up clinics offering free Dental services throughout Virginia. In 2023, 1,235 patients received free Dental care valued at over 1.5 million and provided by 1,092 volunteers. Over 7,500 Dental procedures were performed in 2023 alone.
Vdaf partners with the Virginia department of health from time to time on grants to provide educational opportunities and direct services that increase access to Dental care for underserved virginians. In 2022, two programs continued as a result of these grants.the first involved development of a training program to assit medical office staff in understanding
The importance of evaluation for chronic disease ad coordinated care between Dental and medical providers providers in the community to improve the patients overall wellness. The second provided free continuing education courses, comprised of a didactic seminar and a clinic day, for dentists and Dental staff seeking to increase their
Expertise and level of comfort in treating children and those with special health care needs.