In an innovative approach to total health, Kaiser Permanente is bringing healthy smiles to Southern California children. Poor oral health is associated with many serious medical conditions such as diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Dental disease is "the nation’s silent epidemic and the most common childhood illness – fives times more common than asthma, says the U.S. Surgeon General.

To combat the epidemic, Kaiser Permanente announced that 33 nonprofit organizations will receive oral health grants totaling more than $3 million to help fund a wide range of dental care services for at-risk populations in underserved communities throughout Southern California.

Kaiser Permanente Southern California resented checks totaling just under $1 million to three of the grant recipients this past Friday during The Children’s Dental Center of Greater Los Angeles’ Annual holiday open house. The event was held at its Shannon Kelly Toothfairy Cottage Education Center, 260 E. Buckthorn Street in Inglewood. More than 500 children and families were expected to attend.

The three grant recipients are The Children’s Dental Center of Greater Los Angeles; the Dental Health Foundation; and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. "Kaiser Permanente continues to provide extensive support to the community to expand access to care for vulnerable and uninsured populations with a focus on preventative, primary, and specialty care services," said Diana Bontá, vice president of public affairs for Kaiser Permanente Southern California.

The oral health services grants are designed to address the connection between oral health and general health, especially the link with chronic oral infections and diabetes, osteoporosis, heart and lung conditions. "The Children’s Dental Center of Greater Los Angeles has successfully treated, screened, and educated more than 227,000 underserved children since 1995," said President and CEO Dennis Young of the Center. "Kaiser Permanente’s oral health grant will enable our Center to increase our service hours, see more patients, and hire additional staff." Untreated dental disease results in pain, infection, dysfunction, distraction from learning, and may inhibit general growth and development because of associated nutritional liabilities.

The 2008 grant recipients were selected from the communities Kaiser Permanente serves. Many agencies were chosen in high-need areas and because they provide services not covered by other sources. The remaining agencies located across the Southern California region from Bakersfield to the north, San Diego to the south, Ventura to the east, and Victorville to the west provide a variety of health programs and services.

Kaiser Permanente is America’s leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with Southern California headquarters in Pasadena, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of 3.2 million members in Southern California. Today it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region includes nearly 56,000 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 6,400 physicians representing all specialties.

More information about Kaiser Permanente can be found at kaiserpermanente.org.