The fight to improve oral health and access to treatment for underserved people has escalated to new levels of awareness and care - and for good reason.

The dental community is responding with a powerful surge to push oral health awareness to the forefront. The Dental Trade Alliance (DTA) - an association of companies that provides dental equipment, supplies, materials and services to dentists and other oral care professionals - and the DTA Foundation helped form a coalition of more than 35 dental organizations called The Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives to focus on improving oral health in America. The coalition partnered with the Ad Council to launch the 2min2x oral health awareness campaign targeting parents and caregivers of children up to age 12. This creative series of multimedia ads, which includes entertaining music videos posted on 2min2x.org, emphasizes the importance of brushing two minutes, twice a day. Patterson Dental has joined efforts to promote this campaign as it continues to build momentum across the country.

Patterson Companies President and CEO Scott Anderson, who serves as chairman of the DTA board, said, "Improving oral health and access to care continues to be a top priority for DTA leadership, as well as for Patterson Dental and many others in our great industry. By uniting and being involved as a dental community, we can help more people live healthier lives - and that's exciting."

Michigan Community Dental Clinics, Inc. (MCDC) is an example of a nonprofit organization making dental care more accessible. Staffed by 60 doctors, MCDC's network of 22 clinics across Michigan had more than 190,000 patient visits last year. About 85 percent of MCDC's patients are on Medicaid. MCDC also targets the working poor and uninsured, offering reduced fee plans based on income levels. About 60 percent of patients are children. "We do not compete with private practitioners," said MCDC's chief dental officer Dr. Gregory Heintschel, who also sits on the MCDC board of directors. He noted that there are situations in which traditional insurance is accepted, such as when access to care is problematic or a patient needs to be seen in the hospital or referred to an MCDC specialist, for example.

Dr. Heintschel joined MCDC about six years ago to help the people he couldn't help in his 20 years of private practice. The doctor's work now is largely administrative, although he still practices occasionally alongside MCDC doctors in more of a mentor role.