Academy of General Dentistry Foundation Celebrates 49 Years of Supporting General Dentistry and Oral Health
The Academy of General Dentistry Foundation (AGD Foundation) is celebrating 49 years of service this October. Since its inception, the foundation has supported the efforts of general dentists toward improving the oral health of the public. The AGD Foundation has more recently committed to focusing its community outreach on oral cancer awareness, risk factor prevention, and the importance of early diagnosis and frequent screenings by trained general dentists.
Throughout the years, the AGD Foundation has made many strides in promoting oral cancer awareness within the dental community and among organizational partners with similar objectives. In recent years, the organization has awarded more than $200,000 in grant funds to programs that promote oral cancer awareness, education and/or screenings. Since the beginning of 2021 the AGDF has:
- Offered free oral cancer screenings to AGD2021 attendees and the scientific session’s host hotel, Fairmont Hotel Austin, employees
- Raised nearly $30,000 during this year’s most recent silent auction to fund future oral cancer screening programs and provide free educational materials
- Supported and funded the Washington AGD’s most recent video production project, an educational video on HPV/Oral Cancer awareness. The AGD Foundation plans to distribute the video to AGD members and its dental and medical colleagues for use as an educational resource.
“As we celebrate the Academy of General Dentistry Foundation’s 49th Anniversary, we want to look at ways to strengthen our resources and practice becoming more pro-active in promoting screenings and building awareness,” said Gary E. Heyamoto, DDS, MAGD, AGD Foundation President. “We continue to see an increase in oral cancer cases which is unfortunate because it is one of the most preventable forms of cancer. Early detection is key to survival, so having more dentists screen and more patients get screened can increase survival rates.”
The AGD Foundation is currently promoting its annual appeal fundraising campaign. The funding offers financial support to community-based and community-driven outreach programs that provide oral cancer screenings and education. The organization is also soliciting items for its upcoming silent auction scheduled for November. Items are due by November 1.
Individuals or organizations interested in supporting the campaign and efforts or donating items to the auction can visit the foundation’s online giving portal.