DELTA DENTAL DONATES TO DOVER CLINIC 

PARSIPPANY, NJ (August 6, 2004) – Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey Foundation, Inc. (Delta Dental) recently made a donation to the Dover Community Clinic located on Warren Street in Dover. The clinic provides low cost, high quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate medical and dental care to low-income families in Morris County and surrounding areas. Delta Dental's grant will be used specifically to support the clinic's dental initiatives.

The Dover Community Clinic was founded in April 1990 by Dr. Bob and Kay Zufall to provide primary care services. Today the staff is uniquely comprised of retired specialists in a variety of fields including urology, cardiology, ophthalmology and oral surgery. The staff dentist, who saw close to 1,250 patients last year, is on site about three days a week. Several staff members are bilingual, which is helpful for the largely Hispanic patient population.

"Delta Dental strives to increase access to care and improve oral health throughout the state," said Walter VanBrunt, vice president, Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey Foundation, Inc. "We support the Dover Clinic's outreach to this community and will continue to lend financial assistance to ensure the continuation of the valuable services they provide."

The biggest challenge the clinic faced early on was cancellations and "no-shows," until they began attaching a modest fee to their services. Patients are asked to make a contribution - based on a sliding scale according to ability - at the time they make their appointment. This helps the clinic to meet its goal of providing care and access to those who need it.

According to Kay Zufall, who serves as clinic administrator, "We offer traditional preventive dental services, but many low-income families don't seek dental care unless something actually hurts. We can do dentures, root canals, crowns, and oral surgery by referral. But part of our mission is to educate patients about the importance regular dental care plays in their overall health."

The clinic currently sees low-income patients from Dover, Morristown, Parsippany, Randolph and Rockaway. And the clinic sometimes receives inquiries from patients outside the county. When that happens, they usually assist that individual in finding a clinic that's closer to home. The goal is not to take private patients away from practicing dentists, but rather to offer services to a population who would otherwise go without care because they cannot afford it.

Zufall says that the clinic recently began working with the Wharton school system to focus efforts on treating children. The school nurse will do preliminary screenings and make referrals to the clinic based on individual need. The clinic hopes to expand this service to other local areas.

About Delta Dental
Delta Dental established the Delta Dental Plan of New Jersey Foundation in 1986. Its mission includes promoting and assisting educational projects devoted to the enhancement of dental health, research programs designed to increase public awareness of the general benefits of good health, and to improve dental health through the science of dentistry. Each year, the Delta Dental Foundation provides financial support to various organizations throughout the state.

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 offers seamless dental benefits administration for employer groups throughout the country and the largest network of credentialed dentists in the nation. For more information visit us on the Web at www.deltadentalnj.com.