Minnesota Dental Foundation Inc

Two significant programs help the underserved access free dental care. The minnesota mission of mercy project provides free dental care to patients over a weekend visiting a different city in minnesota every other year. The donated dental services program provides elderly, disabled or medically fragile individuals who can not afford needed dentistry with free dental care in private dental offices throughout the year. Another smaller program is the minnesota heroes orthodontic program which provides free orthodontic care to children and spouses of gold star families.

Education loan forgiveness monies were given to three dentists who have agreed to practice in the taconite assistance area of northeastern minnesota for at least five years to help with access to dental services in that part of the state. The foundation also advised the delta dental of minnesota foundation in creating a program to help repay educational loans for recipients practicing in a rural health professions shortage area (hpsa) for five years.

The minnesota dental foundation oversees a program that helps retired dentists maintain their dental license as long as they are not receiving any income from dentistry and agree to only provide dentistry to the underserved.