Service
Our success begins and ends with providing superior quality service.
At Delta Dental of Tennessee, service to the community is at the heart of everything we do. Since 1965, we have been dedicated to improving the oral and overall health of Tennesseans, and our commitment to transforming lives and communities has never waivered.
A smile has the power to turn someone’s life around 180 degrees, and it’s with that thought in mind that Delta Dental established the Smile180 Foundation to support charitable dental clinics, children’s hospitals, and dental education across Tennessee. If you’ve never experienced dental pain, it’s difficult to understand what it means to be able to eat without pain, speak clearly to the person across an interview desk, or smile when you’re telling your children you love them, but for the patients who have their smiles restored, it’s everything.
Charitable dental clinics serve patients whose financial situation prevents them from seeking care through traditional means, and children’s hospitals often have patients who need dental care before they can go on to receive treatment for other diseases. We have been able to help provide facilities and equipment so that patients can receive the care they need at a time when they need it most.
Delta Dental also believes that Tennesseans deserve to have the best-educated dentists taking care of them, so we helped build state of the art training facilities at Tennessee’s two dental colleges so that they can learn techniques that will put smiles back on their patients’ faces.
We understand that our success begins and ends with providing superior quality service, and part of that is serving those who need it most. We hope you will enjoy this look at what 25 years of community means to Delta Dental.
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Jeff Ballard President and CEO of Delta Dental of Tennessee |
Phil A. Wenk, DDS Executive Director and CEO of Delta Dental of Tennessee's Smile180 Foundation |
1.5 million members in Tennessee and across the country
2100+ Tennessee-based employers choose Delta Dental and DeltaVision for their employees
A member of the Delta Dental Plans Association serving more than 89 million members
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State Representative Charles Sargent
Delta Dental of Tennessee awarded its inaugural Tennessee Smile Power Award to State Representative Charles Sargent during its Smile 180 Five Year Celebration in 2017.
During his 22 years of services, Representative Sargent was a committed proponent of providing oral health for all Tennesseans.
Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak
Delta Dental of Tennessee awarded its second annual Tennessee Smile Power Award to Tennessee Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak during its Smile180 clinic workshop in 2019.
McPeak helped pave the way for the creation of Delta Dental of Tennessee’s Smile180 Foundation, an organization whose focus is centered on three pillars of support: Tennessee’s children’s hospitals, free and reduced-cost dental clinics, and dental schools
Health Commissioner
Dr. Lisa Piercey
in 2022, Delta Dental of Tennessee and the Smile180 Foundation, recognized outgoing Tennessee Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey with its third-ever Tennessee Smile Power Award.
The award was given to Dr. Piercey in recognition of her stewardship of the state’s new 5-year, $94 million pilot program to expand access to dental care known as the Healthy Smiles Initiative.
View the award presentation
SERVING OUR
COMMUNITY
Through this program, toothbrushes go home with Tennessee students through Delta Dental’s longstanding support for food banks and BackPack programs that provide weekend meals for children in food-insecure households. The Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee BackPack Program provides easy-to-prepare food for at-risk children on weekends and during school breaks when other resources are not available. More than 5,400 children received BackPacks each week.
The Water’s Cool @ School grant program aims to help students understand the importance of drinking water, and to make it easier for students to do so during the school day. Participating schools are encouraged, but not required, to submit a creative project as a part of their application. Winning schools receive toothbrushes for all students and a contactless Elkay bottle-filling station.
Delta Dental has become the single largest donor to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Dentistry in a longstanding effort to improve education for future dentists in the state of Tennessee. In April 2023, the new $45 million Delta Dental of Tennessee Building opened on its Memphis campus.
Delta Dental partners with Special Olympics Tennessee to provide free dental screenings and oral health care information to participating Special Olympics athletes. As the presenting sponsor for Special Smiles Health Screenings, Delta Dental is able to help Special Olympics provide athletes access to free and high-quality prevention for oral health concerns. The program has been successful in helping to create awareness and improve access to dental care for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
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Smile Power Week was created to promote healthy smiles across Tennessee during National Smile Month. Governor Bill Lee, in conjunction with the Tennessee Charitable Care Network, proclaimed June 12-16, 2023, the 8th annual "Smile Power" Oral Health Week. Smile Power Week educates Tennesseans about the importance of oral health, and it’s an opportunity to showcase the important work being done in communities across the state by free and charitable clinics.
In recognition of April as Youth Sports Safety Month, Delta Dental of Tennessee launched a statewide initiative to encourage all kids to wear mouthguards while playing sports by giving away free boil and bite mouthguards to athletes ages 10 and under participating in organized sports leagues in Tennessee. Mouthguards help protect your teeth and stabilize your jaw, minimizing the risk of injuries to the face.
In partnership with the Nashville Sounds, Neighborhood Health, Meharry College of Dentistry, and Jet Dental, Delta Dental of Tennessee presents Kids Dental Day in the summer to give kids access to free dental screenings and cleanings. Special sports celebrities help make the day special for all of the participants. Kids Dental Day is a great opportunity for children to learn the importance of routine dental care, receive free screenings, and meet sports celebrities.
View a recap of our 2023 clinic
Delta Dental of Tennessee and Tennessee’s local PBS Kids stations are working together to promote healthier smiles for Tennessee’s youngest citizens. Through on-air PSAs, email newsletters, community events, and more, we are proud to partner with 6 PBS affiliates statewide in an effort to provide oral health education.
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