Our Mission
It is the mission of the Sacramento District Dental Foundation to promote the oral and general health of the public by serving as the charitable arm of the Sacramento District Dental Society (SDDS) and the dental community.
Our Goals
The Foundation was established in 1969 and is the 501(c)3 not-for-profit charity arm of the Dental Society. The Foundation provides dental services to those who otherwise would not be able to afford it, focusing especially on children in the communities of Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties. Funds raised are used to aid and promote the oral and general health of the public through education, service and treatment in the fields of preventative and curative dentistry. To learn more about the goals of the Sacramento District Dental Foundation, download the Strategic Plan 2018-2022.
The Sacramento District Dental Foundation is funded solely through contributions, bequests, fundraising events, donation of services, planned giving and grants. For more information on ways to support the Foundation, please visit our donate page.
Foundation Board of Directors
Carl Hillendahl, DDS
Wallace Bellamy, DMD
Kevin Keating, DDS, MS
Foundation Board Members
Nima Aflatooni, DDS
Nancy Archibald, DDS
Paul Binon, DDS
Margaret Delmore, MD, DDS
Volki Felahy, DDS
Greg Heise, DDS
Michael O’Brien, DDS
Hana Rashid, DDS
Wesley Yee, DDS
History
The Sacramento District Dental Foundation was established in 1969 as the charitable arm of the Sacramento District Dental Society. Since its inception, the Foundation has worked to meet the oral health needs of the communities of the wider Sacramento area. The organization is successful due to the expertise and generosity of the member dentists of the Sacramento District Dental Society. They are the volunteers who provide free dental and oral health services to those in need. The Foundation’s initiatives have grown into the collection of programs that helps improve the health and quality of life of thousands of people each year:
- The Helen Hamilton Fund, established by the first SDDS Executive Director, Helen Hamilton, has served the orthodontic needs of children more than 40 years.
- Smiles for Kids, founded by Dr. Gerard Ortner and Dr. Don Rollofson in 1991, was adopted as a project in 2003 to serve uninsured and underinsured children between the ages of 1 and 18. The program has since provided oral health screenings and treatment to more than 522,000 kids. To date, more than $15.6 million has been donated in free dental services.
- Smiles for Big Kids was founded in 2009 in response to the unmet oral health needs of uninsured, low-income adults by providing pro bono treatment for individuals in urgent need of dental care. Since its launch, the program has provided more than 630 adults with free dental treatment valued at more than $1,762,000.
- Educational outreach programs such as the 1st Tooth or 1st Birthday Campaign, Tooth Fairy dental education program, and more.
“The incorporation of a Foundation will give us the framework upon which we may build future programs relating to local issues in the areas of dental health and education as well as dental care.”