DELTA DENTAL JOINS FIGHT AGAINST BREAST CANCER

PARSIPPANY, NJ (June 27, 2003) – Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey is known for fighting against oral disease, but now they're joining the fight against another kind of disease: breast cancer.

Gay VanBrunt, whose husband Walter is the president and CEO of Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey, co-chaired a recent fundraiser in which she and over seventy others walked to raise money to fight breast cancer. The walk took place during the 2003 Delta Dental Plans Association (DDPA) annual meeting on June 21 in Santa Anna Pueblo, New Mexico. Proceeds will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund, a grassroots advocacy group interested in raising funds for research and improving access to care, including breast cancer clinical trials. The New Jersey Plan raised $18,000 - which was more than any other Delta Dental Plan - of the approximately $75,000 total collected for the event.

"DDPA's annual meetings are filled with goodwill and camaraderie, and Gay VanBrunt is helping to turn that spirit into a public good by participating in this walk and collecting donations for this cause," said Diane Belle, vice president of Corporate Communications.

Many families and friends of the Delta Dental system have suffered with breast cancer, and the event's organizers said they had been looking for something the organization could do to help fight the disease that has touched so many.

There are 37 independent Delta Dental Plans, which cover all of the United States. The corporate goal is to have at least two people from each of the Plans obtain pledges and participate in the walk. This is the first time Delta Dental has participated in this particular charitable event. "We always promote the idea that oral care and overall health are linked, and this is a great way to personify the message," Diane Belle said.

Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey, Inc., is New Jersey’s and Connecticut's leading dental benefits carrier, providing coverage to more than one million people through contracts with employers in New Jersey and Connecticut. The Delta Dental Plan system is a national network of independently operated, not-for-profit dental service corporations specializing in providing dental benefits programs for employee groups throughout the country. For more information visit us on the Web at www.deltadentalnj.com.