The Upper Peninsula Area Health Education Center (UP-AHEC), based at Northern Michigan University, has received  $3,000 from the Delta Dental Foundation to help support Dental Day for residents of Marquette and Baraga Counties.

Marquette-Baraga Dental Day will be held at the West Ishpeming Dental Clinic. It will provide free oral health care services for uninsured and underinsured adults who qualify at up to 250 percent of the federal poverty line. Offering the expanded income threshold broadens UP-AHEC’s reach and ability to serve. For example, a family of four can have a household income of up to $60,625 per year and qualify for the event. The mission of Dental Day is to restore dignity through volunteerism and caring by providing oral health services. Patients will receive free cleanings, fillings and extractions, as well as information about community resources, prevention and nutrition.

“Cindy Noble, UP-AHEC’s executive director, had the original vision for Dental Day,” said Carole Touchinski, program manager. “We asked the community to support this important effort and true to the generous nature of our community, individuals, organizations, businesses and financial supporters came together to ensure this effort would be viable.”

The Delta Dental Foundation is focused on ensuring that children and adults in Michigan receive high-quality oral health education and high-quality dental care. Through its Brighter Futures initiative, Delta Dental is committed to improving people’s oral and overall health and well-being through advocacy, education and philanthropy.

“Adults miss 164 million hours of work each year because of dental issues,” said Teri Battaglieri, Delta Dental foundation director. “By funding the U.P. Area Health Education Center, we can help increase access to high-quality dental care for more underserved adults, so they can continue to show up for work pain-free and avoid serious, painful and expensive health issues down the road.” 

Marquette-Baraga Dental Day will be held on Saturday, April 23. Registration opens March 21 and continues through March 25. To register for services, call 227-1628 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on those dates. 

The UP-AHEC’s mission is “connecting students to careers, professionals to communities, and communities to better health.” The organization accomplishes this mission by expanding continuing education to professionals in the health care field, developing and delivering programming to 9-12 students from rural remote areas and engaging in community mobilization at the county level to assist communities in solving their health care access issues. For more information, visit www.nmu.edu/upahec. 

The Delta Dental Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organizations established in 1980, which serves as the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and North Carolina. The Foundation’s goals are to support education and research for the advancement of dental science, and to promote the oral health of the public through education and service activities, particularly for those with special needs. For more information, visit www.deltadentalmi.com.