ForsythKids, a mobile dental program bringing care to underserved communities, will expand its school-based program in Quincy, Massachusetts thanks to support from Delta Dental of Massachusetts, the leading dental benefits administrator in the state. A storied Boston charity program with over a century of service to the community, ForsythKids is led by the nonprofit ADA Forsyth Institute (AFI), the world’s leader in innovative oral health research with a mission to promote oral health education and accessible care through community programs.
ForsythKids will visit Quincy’s Rosemary & Archie Wahlberg Head Start Early Learning Center on Nov. 18 to provide oral care to children. Thanks to a generous contribution from Delta Dental of Massachusetts, ForsythKids can now expand its offering to more children and send more staff to future visits in Quincy for the 2024-25 school year.
Through their highly efficient operations, the ADA Forsyth Institute maximizes support to deliver a profound impact, using every additional dollar to provide additional dental examinations, cleanings, sealants, and fluoride varnish to students who otherwise wouldn’t have them. The program also provides each student with toothpaste, toothbrushes, oral hygiene instruction, and referrals to community dentists as needed.
Providing oral health education and care has been vital to AFI’s mission since 1914, when the organization began providing care to children in Boston’s lower-income areas. As one of the first dental infirmaries in the world dedicated to children, AFI has treated nearly 750,000 children using scientific knowledge to improve public health. AFI continues to identify community outreach as a core part of its mission.
“Oral care from an early age is crucial to building healthy habits and avoiding disease later in life,” said Megan Pugach-Gordon, Director of ForsythKids. “We are grateful for Delta Dental of Massachusetts’ support in promoting oral care and assisting us with reaching underserved communities.”
ForsythKids has been working with kids in Quincy since 2021, establishing a relationship with the Head Start program. Many children in the Quincy community need support. Over 47% of pre-K children in the community are identified as experiencing economic hardship, and 72.6% are identified as high needs, according to a 2023-24 school year report by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Head Start is a federally funded school program that supports the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development of kids aged 0-5. The program is free for low-income parents who meet income guidelines. It offers parents opportunities to be involved in their children’s early education through parent training, workshops, school readiness meetings, and family enrichment activities.
ForsythKids treated about 2,600 kids during the 2023-24 school year. Thanks to generous contributions such as Delta Dental of Massachusetts’ funding, as well as from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, ForsythKids can provide care, free of charge to families without insurance coverage.
“Ensuring that all residents have access to quality medical care is one of the fundamental responsibilities of working in public service, a responsibility that is especially important when it comes to caring for vulnerable children. That’s why I’m incredibly proud of the House’s support for the ForsythKids program in past budgets, and why I am thrilled that the program will be expanding in my home city of Quincy,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy). “I want to thank the folks at ForsythKids, Delta Dental of Massachusetts and at the Quincy’s Rosemary & Archie Wahlberg Head Start Early Learning Center for the work that they continue to do for children in the Commonwealth.”
Delta Dental of Massachusetts seeks to power effective dental care for underserved communities, aiming to support direct dental care to improve the overall health of communities throughout Massachusetts.
“Oral health is directly linked to overall health and wellbeing, and we know that access to preventive dental care is critical from a young age,” said Erik Montlack, President of Delta Dental of Massachusetts. “ForsythKids’ mobile, school-based dental program provides an important access point for children and families and Delta Dental is proud to support the expansion of this initiative in the City of Quincy.”
Tooth decay, the most common childhood disease in the U.S., results in more than 51 million lost school hours each year. Untreated dental disease can lead to pain, lack of attention in the classroom, problems eating and speaking, low self-esteem and long-term health consequences.
The percentage of kids with untreated cavities decreased from 39 to 19 percent after they received treatment by ForsythKids, among a 7,000-child cohort examined in a 2021 study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association.1
1. Starr, Jacqueline R. et al. Longitudinal caries prevalence in a comprehensive, multicomponent, school-based prevention program. The Journal of the American Dental Association, Volume 152, Issue 3, 224 – 233.e11
