Senior Smiles

Senior Smiles: A National Oral Health Awareness Program

As part of its mission, AADA’s Board of Directors implemented a program in 2006 called “Senior Smiles.”  The mission of the campaign is to educate seniors on the importance of good oral health and to raise awareness within local communities of the

oral health needs of seniors.   

Over the past three years, more than 39,000 kits were distributed in 35 states with high positive feedback from those who received the materials. The kits that were distributed included products such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, and denture products. Another vital piece of the kit was an educational brochure. For an electronic copy of the booklet, please click here.

The March 2009 recipients for the first round of grants for 2009 are:

• Christy L. Blake, Alliance of the Isaac Knapp District Dental Society, Fort Wayne, IN
• Dr. Preeti Sahasi, Berwick, PA
• Anna Lippert and Mary Lou Young, Alliance of Central District, Camdenton, MS
• Aram Kim, DMD candidate, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and Theresa Parks and Laura Adams, Flynn House, Roxbury Tenets, MA
• Dr. Ruth Goldblatt, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT
• Maralyn Hauer, Alliance member and the United Way of Tucson, AZ

The June 2009 recipients for the second round of grants for 2009 are:

• The City of Portland Adult Indigent Oral Health Program, Portland, ME
• Paula Garriott, AADA mom, Las Vegas, NV
• Alliance of the Wabash Valley Dental Society, AADA member Susan Beckett, Wabash, IN
• Kathryn Steffen, AADA member, Oklahoma City, OK
• Chesterfield Health Department, AADA member Suzy Trotter, Chester, VA

Do you have questions about Senior Smiles? You may contact:

• Marayn Hauer, AADA Senior Smiles Chair mhauer@dcgl.org
  
  
• Gigi Kudyba, AADA Dental Health Education Chair gkudyba@aol.com
  
  
• Trish Rubik-Rothstein, AADA Central Office Director
  trish@allianceada.org