The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America has awarded a $400,000 grant to Dental Lifeline Network (DLN), which will help the national charitable organization extend its volunteer dentist recruitment efforts, expand coordinated care, and support the Will You See One Vet campaign.
DLN provides oral healthcare for individuals who are elderly, medically fragile, or living with disabilities. Most patients of these patients suffer from seriously neglected diseases and are unable to access dental care due to the cost or lack of dental coverage. For example, Will You See One Vet engages volunteer dentists to help veterans with special needs, since most veterans don’t qualify for dental benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“We are so grateful for Guardian’s ongoing partnership and support of our programs,” said Fred Leviton, CEO of DLN. “To date, its support has contributed to over 1,300 patients receiving more than $5 million in donated dental care that they wouldn’t otherwise receive.”
Through its flagship Donated Dental Services (DDS) program, DLN provides complementary, comprehensive dental care through a national network of nearly 16,000 volunteer dentists and 3,500 volunteer laboratories.
“We’re very proud of our partnership with Dental Lifeline Network and the progress we’ve made to increase access to quality dental care for the most vulnerable individuals across the US,” said Chris Swanker, CEO of Avesis, a Guardian company. “At Guardian, we understand that barriers to quality dental care still persist, so it’s partnerships like these that enable us to reach those who are underserved and uninsured.”
Since partnering with DLN in 2018, Guardian Life has contributed nearly $1 million and helped increase dental care access both nationally and with targeted statewide programs in Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. Dentists interested in donating or volunteering can visit dentallifeline.org or willyouseeonevet.org.
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