Delta Dental of Arizona is helping expand treatment for patients in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The dental benefits provider recently partnered with Neighborhood Outreach Access to Health (NOAH) and HonorHealth Foundation to pay for expert emergency dental services at NOAH for uninsured patients who come to HonorHealth emergency departments with dental problems. This new Delta Dental of Arizona Dental Connect program is possible because of a $525,000 donation from Delta Dental of Arizona. Wendy Armendariz, NOAH chief executive officer, said patients with a dental crisis typically come to emergency departments as their “last resort” and their issues can be causing major pain, affecting other areas of their health and likely interfering with their day-to-day lives.
Delta Dental of Arizona CEO Allan Allford, NOAH CEO Wendy Armendariz and HonorHealth Foundation president and CEO Jared Langkilde gather at NOAH Heuser Pediatric Dental (photo courtesy of Delta Dental of Arizona).
With Dental Connect, when a patient without insurance checks in to an HonorHealth emergency room with a dental emergency, facial pain or other related oral health problem, that person will be referred to the proper NOAH dental employee for treatment. NOAH will then set up a virtual triage appointment with the patient to see a dentist, usually within 24 hours. After that triage appointment, NOAH will schedule the patient to come for an appointment at one of its four area dental clinics, including Desert Mission Health Center, to start the emergency dental work. Delta Dental of Arizona also will pay for transportation costs for Dental Connect patients to get to the clinic.
Delta Dental has a 65-year history of helping the United States’ oral health. Its COVID-19 relief efforts were expected to reach $1.1 billion by early this year, including more than $10 million in Arizona.
To learn more about Delta Dental of Arizona, visit deltadentalaz.com. For more information about NOAH, visit noahhelps.org and to learn more about HonorHealth Foundation visit honorhealthfoundation.org.
