For this special edition of Industry News, we’ve focused on philanthrophic efforts by dental professionals and companies. To read even more about the great work that Townies are doing across the globe, click here.

Michigan Dentist Develops Candy to Help Children with Cancer
Dr. John Bruinsma and his wife, Debra, founders of Dr. John’s Candies, have launched a new line of sugar-free candy that is beneficial for children undergoing chemotherapy.

The candies, as a part of the company’s new Thrive line, was created after the MaxLove Project, a children’s cancer nonprofit organization, challenged Dr. John’s to make an all-natural lollipop. The base of Thrive is fiber, in addition to the cavity-fighting combination of xylitol and erythritol. One sugar-free lollipop provides 20 percent of the recommended amount of daily fiber, and for each sale of Thrive or Thrive + Probiotics, Dr. John’s will donate part of the proceeds to children’s cancer nonprofits.

Handing Hope, another organization designed to help others through prevention and education, has also partnered with Dr. John’s and started the Lollipop Tree Project. Through this program, children can receive an all-natural, sugar-free lollipop during and after treatment to alleviate nausea, sores and the bad taste in their mouths that often accompanies chemotherapy. Handing Hope’s goal is to “plant” these lollipop trees in cancer centers across the country.

For more information about the organizations, visit maxloveproject.org and handinghope.org. For more information about Dr.?John’s Candies, visit drjohns.com.

Dentsply Sirona Supports Every Smile Counts Day
On Feb. 22, Every Smile Counts Day, the dental community rallied together to raise money benefiting Dental Lifeline Network (DLN). Dentsply Sirona presented its $20,000 donation at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting.

Dental professionals who purchase office supplies and dental equipment from participating companies on Every Smile Counts Day can help save a life. With every dollar raised, nearly $9 in care will be generated to those who desperately need comprehensive, often lifesaving dental treatment.

Millions of people throughout the United States with disabilities, or who are elderly or medically fragile, don’t have the ability to pay for vital dental care. Through Donated Dental Services (DDS), DLN’s flagship program, 15,000?volunteer dentists and 3,500 dental labs donate their time and talent and serve more than 16,000 people each year who need life-changing and lifesaving dental care. Since its inception in 1985, the DDS program has surpassed $365 million in donated dental therapies, transforming the lives of 118,000 people.

For more information, visit dentallifeline.org.

Henry Schein Joins Nassau County Dental Society to Celebrate 16th Annual Give Kids a Smile Program
Henry Schein recently joined the Nassau County Dental Society in celebrating the 16th annual Give Kids a Smile (GKAS) program, an initiative of the ADA Foundation through which dental teams volunteer to provide free oral health care and education to underserved children across the country.

Team Schein joined more than 400 volunteers to help provide more than 1,200?kids from across Nassau County, New York, with dental screenings, fluoride varnish applications and information about proper nutrition and teeth-brushing technique. This year’s event was the first attended by students from the Henry Viscardi School, a setting for children with severe physical disabilities and who often require life-sustaining medical treatment throughout the day. 

Henry Schein has served as the program’s official professional products sponsor since the ADA launched GKAS nationally in 2003 to raise awareness of the critical need to expand access to oral health care for children in the U.S. The society’s event was one of more than 1,300 scheduled to take place throughout the country this year. Nearly 300,000 children will receive care at these events from more than 24,000 volunteers, including more than 6,000 dentists, using essential oral health care products donated by Henry Schein and its supplier partners.