NSU receives $55,000 Grant from Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation to Provide Dental Services to North Miami Beach Elementary Students

FT. LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – Hundreds of underserved and uninsured elementary school students in the North Miami Beach area will once again receive dental care services this academic school year from Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) College of Dental Medicine thanks to a $55,000 grant from the Dr. John. T. Macdonald Foundation Inc.

The award, which has been renewed for the fourth year, allows NSU to provide dental services such as oral examinations, cleanings, fluoride application, sealants and oral hygiene instruction to uninsured students at participating elementary schools in North Miami Beach during the 2014-15 school year.

Last year, the grant funded more than 2,000 preventative and restorative services for nearly 300 second and third graders at Greynolds Park, Fulford and Gertrude K. Edelman Sabal Palm elementary schools.

“Many of these schoolchildren are at risk for tooth decay and thanks to this generous grant we are able to help them,” said Ana Karina Mascarenhas, B.D.S., M.P.H., Dr.P.H., associate dean and chief of developmental sciences of NSU’s College of Dental Medicine. “This condition affects low-income and disadvantaged children significantly more than their affluent peers.”

More than 50 percent of children without health insurance had not seen a dentist in the past year and more than one in five needed dental care but did not receive it for financial reasons, according to Mascarenhas.

Tooth decay is the most common childhood disease, according to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. If left untreated, it can lead to problems eating, speaking and sleeping. Poor oral health among children has been tied to lower performance in school and poor social relationships. Children with early childhood dental pain often weigh less than other children.

The NSU College of Dental Medicine program provides children from select Miami-Dade County elementary schools with oral health services at NSU’s North Miami Beach Dental Clinic located at 1750 NE 167 Street.‎

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About Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation: The Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation, Inc. is a private grant-making foundation, supporting projects and programs designed to improve, preserve or restore the health and health care of the people in Miami-Dade County. For more information or a grant application, please contact Ms. Kim Greene, executive director, 1550 Madruga Ave., Suite 215, Coral Gables, FL 33146, (305) 667-6017, website: http://www.jtmacdonaldfdn.org/.

About NSU College of Dental Medicine: Predoctoral and postdoctoral dental students of the college benefit from state-of-the-art educational programs and clinical facilities, dedicated staff, and an outstanding faculty recognized annually with numerous awards and honors. Research programs focus on clinical trials, biomaterials, tissue engineering, and innovative methods for delivering preventive dental services.  The College of Dental Medicine’s academic programs demonstrate a special commitment to caring for medically complex patients, underserved populations, and special needs children and adults. Students and professionals come from diverse backgrounds to pursue their courses of study at the college.For more information, please visit http://dental.nova.edu/.

About Nova Southeastern University: Situated on 314 beautiful acres in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at all levels. NSU is an independent, not-for-profit institution with 26,000 students at campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Palm Beach and Tampa, Florida as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico. NSU awards associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, doctoral and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields. NSU is classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and it is one of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification. For more information, please visit http://www.nova.edu/. Celebrating 50 years of academic excellence!

Media Contact:
Jeremy Katzman, M.B.A., APR | Office of Public Affairs
954-262-5408 (office)
954-661-7000 (cell)
j.katzman@nova.edu