In celebration of 2021’s GKAS promotion, the New York State Dental Foundation is giving away toothbrushes on a first-come, first-serve basis to community health organizations/programs, schools, food banks, etc. The limit is one box of 144 toothbrushes, with free shipping.
 
To apply for a free box of toothbrushes, simply complete the product donation form on this link: https://www.nysdentalfoundation.org/our-programs.html and email to Laura Clark Stedman, NYSDF Executive Director. 

Continuing Education

​Some regulations restrict licensees to a certain percentage of self-study for continuing education requirements. In response to the evolving situation with the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), and for those licensees whose registrations are due to renew March 1, 2020 – January 1, 2022, the Department will grant an adjustment to all licensees to complete up to 100% of the continuing education as self-study, provided that it is taken from a Department-approved provider and is in an acceptable subject area for the specific profession.

Additionally, the Department will grant an adjustment to all licensees, regardless of registration renewal date, to utilize self-study for any coursework taken during the period from March 1, 2020 – January 1, 2022, provided that it is taken from a Department-approved provider and is in an acceptable subject area for the specific profession.  Coursework taken outside that timeframe must meet the continuing education requirements in each individual profession’s laws and regulations.

SED is working closely with other New York State agencies and the Governor’s Office to tackle issues relating to COVID-19. Please continue to monitor the Department’s website for updated guidance.

http://www.op.nysed.gov/COVID-19.html 

​The New York State Dental Foundation distributes thousands of dollars each year as part of its Give Kids a Smile Award (GKAS) program, which recognizes an organization’s ability to build, expand or enhance oral health education, access and/or capacity for NYS children. Special attention is given to programs that set higher standards of oral health care and quality to better meet the challenges of the future, are driving innovation and expand current capacity. We are currently accepting GKAS nominations for the 2022 funding cycle; information and applications can be found at:
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https://www.nysdentalfoundation.org/nys-give-kids-a-smile.html

Winning nominations will receive up to $5,000 in funding and/or product/equipment donation. Deadline: 1 July 2021. 

Dr. Lawrence E. Volland, former NYSDA President (2005), has been elected to become the Treasurer of the New York State Dental Foundation, effective 2021. Dr. Volland, who has been a Foundation Trustee since 2016, succeeds Dr. Robert Doherty, who retired at the end of 2020.
 
A 1975 graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, Dr. Volland has maintained a private general practice in Lockport since 1976. He has also held many academic positions, including with his alma mater. Included in a lengthy list of professional positions he has held are chair of the Empire Dental Political Action Committee as well as the NYSDA Medicaid Advisory Committee. Dr. Volland has a longtime history of involvement and held leadership positions in community organizations and foundations, including the Dale Association and the Lyman Spaulding Society.
 
According to Foundation Chair, Dr. G. Kirk Gleason, “Dr. Volland is taking office at a particularly challenging time for all nonprofits, as the effects of the pandemic will continue to resonate into the new year. But having worked with him for many years, I have every confidence that he will be able to help our Board and staff as we steward our resources into a new era.”
 
Dr. Volland’s family includes wife Judith L. Volland, children Judd, Laura, Allison, Geoffrey, and four grandchildren. 

​ Dr. Robert Doherty, who has served as Treasurer of the New York State Dental Foundation since 2012, has announced his retirement, effective 31 December 2020.
 
Dr Lawrence Volland will become the Foundation Treasurer effective 1 January 2021.
 
Throughout his tenure, Dr. Doherty challenged his colleagues to match his annual $1,000 donation challenge, which affectionately became to be known as “the Doherty Challenge.” Though characteristically jovial, with a wry wit that will be much missed, Dr. Doherty never shied away from posing hard questions, especially when it came to the question of weighing the benefits to the Foundation (in terms of growing good will and increasing support) of potential donations.
 
Prior to serving on the Foundation, Dr. Doherty served in many capacities in the tripartite, culminating in serving as NYSDA President in 2010-11. In retirement, he hopes to spend more time with his family, including his three young grandchildren on the west coast. 

To say this past year has been challenging, chaotic, maddening (well, you get the point) would be a vast understatement. However, it definitely revealed rare opportunities to be thankful.
 
On behalf of the Foundation Board of Trustees and our staff, we extend our sincere gratitude to all who have continued to push through in order to ensure that dental care is seen as an essential service, to those who worked really hard to get dental offices back up and running, and to the many who continue to support our mission to improve the oral health of all New Yorkers.
 
Our generous donors, loyal partners and volunteers continue to inspire us to do more, which we are committed to doing in 2021 and beyond. .
 
We thank you, and we wish you all a happy, healthy holiday season

The New York State Dental Foundation’s Give Kids a Smile (GKAS) Awards spotlight innovative and engaging oral health programs and activities from organizations across the State.
This year the Foundation awarded more than $10,000 in cash and materials to three organizations in support of their pediatric oral health outreaches.
 
This year’s GKAS winners are: the Discovery Center of the Southern Tier, PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program and Touro College of Dental Medicine.
 
A key factor in determining which organizations will receive a GKAS Award is to recognize which groups are making significant impacts on the most vulnerable of our population. Often, these organizations are working against all odds, with limited budgets. In 2020, the sheer scale of the COVID-19 crisis put grant makers, including the Foundation, in triage mode. The Foundation’s Charitable Awards Committee, which makes funding recommendations to the full Board, has had to make hard choices to determine which urgent needs most warranted support. There is little doubt that this decision framework will carry well into 2021.
 
COVID-19 is not the only external factor impacting the Foundation’s GKAS Award decision making. “Children and adolescents in the U.S. have made substantial oral health gains in recent years,” states Foundation Chair, Dr. G. Kirk Gleason. “However, there remain persistent disparities in oral health status between white and other racial/ethnic groups and between higher- and lower-income groups of all ages.”
 
Discovery Center of the Southern Tier of New York
 
The Foundation donated $4,000 to the Discovery Center of the Southern Tier to help completion of the revamped “Open Wide” dental exhibit.
The Discovery Center is a chartered educational children's museum that offers interactive learning support for families and public and private educational facilities. Exhibits, many of which interactive, at the Discovery Center serve as an educational tool for schools, families and organizations that seek to foster educational and community learning activities. The mission of the Discovery Center of the Southern Tier is to develop the intellectual, physical and emotional well-being of the children of the Southern Tier through participatory exhibits and programs that engage the senses, challenge the mind and offer a diverse framework for discovery in the arts, sciences and humanities.
Open Wide, which was first established in 2009 to provide children with an introduction to the idea of dental care and treatment, does not, in and of itself, serve as a mechanism for providing direct dental care, but it is able to educate children through role play throughout the year about the importance of good oral health, while at the same time promoting an interest in dental profession as a future career. The interactive nature of the exhibit, which enables kids to "diagnose" x-rays and "examine" the oral cavity further serves to demystify the dental visit experience, which for some kids, can be daunting.
 
PRASAD Children's Dental Health Program (PRASAD CDHP)
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The Foundation donated $2,900 worth of supplies inventory and $2,500 in GKAS Award cash for dental education and flyers. PRASAD CDHP sets a higher standard of oral health and quality to better meet the challenges in the community by delivering dental health education classes and providing a full range of preventive and restorative services, including cleanings, fillings, x-rays, extractions, sealants, cavity prevention and fluoride treatment. Since its inception in 1998, PRASAD CDHP has brought oral health care to children in a rural community. The program is designed to address community barriers to access care such as poor health education, poverty and lack of transportation. A state-of-the-art mobile clinic serves children where they are, at the schools, and ensures that they are able to receive the dental care they need. This strategy has made dental care and health education accessible to thousands of children. Each year PRASAD serves more than 4,000 children. PRASAD CDHP actively collaborates with state and local groups that seek to improve health outcomes including the New York State Oral Health Coalition, the Rural Health Network, school districts and the Sullivan County Oral Health Coalition. Through partnerships with community health organizations and work in the schools, the program is able to educate teachers, students and parents about the importance of good oral health.
 
Touro College of Dental Medicine
 
The Foundation awarded Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM) a $3,500 “combined” grant to provide materials/supplies needed for both its 2019 Veterans Smile and 2020 pediatric oral health outreaches.  TCDM has expanded its Pediatrics Oral Health Education and Outreach Program beyond the clinic, to improve the oral health of its communities and partnered with the Ossining Union Free School District (OUFSD), whose 2017/2018 enrollment statistics label 61% of their 4817 students as economically disadvantaged. Through the partnership with OUFSD, TCDM planned a variety of oral health education events, including Cavity Fighters Club Seminars in OUFSD’s K-5 schools and a First Steps Program aimed at parents and their toddlers.
 
Each year, Community health centers or service programs are encouraged to submit electronic entries for the GKAS Award to the Foundation, which can be accessed at www.nysdentalfoundation.org or by emailing Laura Clark Leon at lbleon@nysdental.org.