Tooth decay is the most prevalent childhood disease, and—if left untreated—can lead to pain, embarrassment, and life-threatening infections.
In the United States, children aged two to 11 from low-income households have more severe cases of tooth decay and are less likely to have access to dental care.
In an ongoing effort to spread awareness of the consequences of poor oral hygiene and educate children about how to maintain healthy smiles, Align Technology, a global medical device company with industry-leading innovative products including the Invisalign® system, iTero® intraoral scanners and digital services, and exocad CAD/CAM software, is working with America’s ToothFairy as title sponsor of its Health Education Resources and Outreach (HERO) Programme.
The community outreach programme provides oral health education resources to non-profit dental clinics, public health organisations, educators and volunteers.
Align’s recent US$100,000 donation marks their 13th year of support for America’s ToothFairy, a non-profit organisation that provides resources to safety-net dental clinics and oral health organisations serving children with restricted access to dental care.
To date, Align has provided more than US$1.8 million dollars toward operational expenses and children’s oral health programmes, helping nearly 8.9 million children and their caregivers learn about the prevention of dental disease.
“Tooth decay doesn’t stop for a pandemic,” said Jill Malmgren, executive director of America’s ToothFairy. “With support from Align, last year we were able to quickly shift our educational efforts to provide free resources online so that kids could learn how to prevent tooth decay from their homes. Since April nearly 600,000 kids have been reached using our downloadable educational resources. We are very excited to see what we will accomplish in the coming year with the renewed commitment of this long-standing partnership.”
“At Align we understand that a healthy, beautiful smile can have an enormous impact on a child’s self-esteem and future success,” said Julie Paulsen, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility at Align Technology, and member of the Board of Directors at America’s ToothFairy. “We are proud to partner with America’s ToothFairy and support their efforts to ensure that more children have access to dental care and education.”
