Tom's of Maine Dental Health for All(TM) Program Awards $100,000 to Five Clinics to Further Access to Oral Health Care

Public Vote Decided Funding For Projects That Will Reach Those in Need

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Mar 25, 2010, 09:32 ET

KENNEBUNK, Maine, March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- There's good news today for the many families that rely on vitally important grassroots clinics for their dental care. Tom's of Maine revealed five winning clinics as part of its annual Dental Health for All™ program, an initiative that celebrates the goodness non-profit clinics bring to their communities. Determined via an online public vote, each of the five winning clinics will receive $20,000 in project sponsorship to help waive fees, increase dental appointments for children, offer greater access to x-ray services, provide a mobile dental team and help with the purchase of needed supplies, among other much needed programs.

Community clinics nationwide stand at the ready to help create more accessible and affordable dental care but they are in dire need of funding. Tom's of Maine has a long history of supporting non-profit clinics that provide critical dental care – from toothbrushes to annual screenings to fillings. This year's Dental Health for All program marks the first time the funding was solely determined by consumers, who could log on to tomsofmaine.com and see clinic videos from all sixteen participants nationwide.

This year's Dental Health for All winners are:

Families First Health & Support Center, Portsmouth, NH – With this sponsorship, the clinic will send a mobile dental team to provide dental care at sites convenient for homeless people, with no appointments needed and no fees, and increase the number of subsidized visits offered for follow up treatment.

Family Health Centers of San Diego, San Diego, CA – This sponsorship will help FHC provide treatments and procedures for families experiencing a demonstrated financial hardship.

Manos De Cristo, Austin, TX – This sponsorship will fund very costly supplies like x-ray film, needles and syringes, suture materials, impression materials, infection control products, injectable and topical anesthetics, gloves and face and body protection for affordable dental treatments.

Spanish Catholic Center, Inc., Washington D.C. – The clinic will use the funds to install digital radiography in two of its five operatories. This installation will ultimately decrease the time involved in taking x-rays from roughly 25 minutes to 10 minutes per patient.

St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island, North Providence, RI –The clinic will use the funds to purchase a dental operatory and related equipment/supplies, which will expand services at St. Joseph.

"Every day millions of Americans go without proper, quality dental care because they simply can't afford it," said Susan Dewhirst, goodness programs manager at Tom's of Maine. "Non-profits continue to see their budgets slashed as state dental programs are cut across the country. TOM's continued investment in Dental Health for All aims to make up for some of those funding losses so clinics can continue to provide critical services to the communities."

Tom's of Maine's Dental Health for All program has helped make 204,000 additional patient visits possible with more than 25 school and community-based dental clinics receiving funding totaling more than $900,000 over the last few years. To see the compelling videos created by this year's winning clinics, visit http://www.tomsofmaine.com/.

About Tom's of Maine

Tom's of Maine is a leader in natural personal care with a long-standing commitment to supporting people, communities and the living planet. For 40 years, the company has sponsored hundreds of non-profit efforts by giving 10% of its profits back to the community and encouraging employees to volunteer by giving 5% paid time off. Each day, Tom's of Maine employees contribute to high sustainability standards and their ideas from wind power to recycled and recyclable packaging are critical to the company's sensitive way of doing business. Tom's of Maine enjoys partnering with its consumers, vendors and many community organizations to support lasting, positive change that is good for the earth and us all. Visit us online at http://www.tomsofmaine.com/.

SOURCE Tom's of Maine