By Fay
Donohue, CEO
To
improve the oral health of all – that is the mission of DentaQuest. It’s our
passion and our reason for being.
DentaQuest
is improving oral health in so many ways. We are on the new Health Insurance
Marketplaces with individual and family dental plans and many people now have
dental insurance for the first time. We are the Medicaid carrier in many
states. We provide back office dental benefit management to hundreds of health
plans. We work to strengthen dental care safety net offices in every state so
care is available to individuals and families in need. Our Institute is using
the latest scientific advances to develop best practices for preventing dental
disease. And our Foundation is getting communities thinking about the
importance of having good oral health and making sure it is part of health
policy conversations.
We are
focused on improving oral health every day – processing claims, paying bills,
building IT systems, selling new accounts, creating new products, answering
phones, enrolling dentists, building networks. And because of this intense
focus, we have become the leading voice on oral health. Today, we are honored
to serve more than 20 million members in 30 states. We really are making a
difference in the lives of people.
This
week, we are kicking off our annual mission month.
Over
the next 30 days, DentaQuest employees are leaving their desks, phones and
computers and heading into our neighboring communities to roll up our sleeves
and work. In Maryland and Virginia, we are painting the lobby at Mary’s Place,
a community health center. In Florida, we are cleaning up parks and community
common spaces in Miami Dade. In Texas, we are sorting food at the Capital Area
Food Bank. In Massachusetts, we are painting and landscaping at Lee Academy, a
pilot pre-school/elementary school in Boston. In Wisconsin, we are working with
the Boys and Girls Clubs of Milwaukee. In Colorado, we lending our hands at the
Mission of Mercy free care dental clinic in Henderson. In Tennessee, we are
helping to prepare for an AIDS walk. In California, we are assembling health
kits. Where there are people, there is
the need for good oral health.
Good
oral health matters… to good health and it matters to opportunity.