SEATTLE – Greater access to essential preventive oral health and dental care will soon be available to southeast Pierce County residents. Arcora Foundation—which advances oral health across Washington state—awarded $250,000 to Community Health Care in Pierce County to help expand dental care. The grant will help more Pierce County-area residents who are underserved— including families with lower incomes, seniors on fixed incomes, veterans, Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color communities, and rural residents— get the dental care they need to prevent and treat oral disease.
“Communities across Washington state have unmet care needs,” said Arcora Foundation President and CEO Vanetta Abdellatif. “With partnerships like this, together we can help ensure more people reach their full potential for good oral and overall health with no one left behind.”
Oral health is essential to overall health.
A healthy mouth is more than a nice smile. Good oral health is one of the most visible indicators of socioeconomic status and health equity. Poor oral health is linked to heart disease, diabetes, pregnancy complications, and other chronic conditions. Visible decay and tooth loss for adults can affect employment opportunities, nutrition, self-esteem, and how others perceive you. For children, painful cavities can impact school attendance, speech patterns, nutrition, self-confidence, and oral health in adulthood.
Thanks to community health centers, people who might not otherwise have access to or afford it receive compassionate and comprehensive care. Throughout
Washington state, more than 1.2 million patients receive care at more than 350 community health centers each year.
About Arcora Foundation
Arcora Foundation advances oral health across Washington state. We are the foundation of Delta Dental of Washington, and the state’s largest foundation dedicated to this cause. We center our work in equity to achieve good oral health for all. Through partnerships, we focus our prevention and access priorities on racial and ethnic communities— specifically Black, Indigenous, and People of Color—where disparities in oral disease and access to care are significant. Our mission is in our
name: bending the arc of oral health toward equity. Learn more at ArcoraFoundation.org.
About Community Health Care
Community Health Care is a nonprofit healthcare system that has been serving the people of Pierce County since 1969. At Community Health Care, no one is denied care due to inability to pay. Uninsured and under-insured patients are billed on a sliding-fee scale based on income and family size. In 2021, a total of 46,337 patients were served through 167,149 patient visits, utilizing our 6 medical clinics, 4 dental clinics, 1 school-based clinic, and a mobile unit. Our mission: to provide the highest quality health care with compassionate service for all. To learn more, visit www.commhealth.org.
