ISDS Foundation Awards $24,000 to Help Illinois Dental Schools

Aug 14, 2024
The ISDS Foundation’s Dental Education Endowment Fund: “Our Legacy, Our Future” program earmarked $8,000 from its endowment’s earnings for each dental school in Illinois in 2024. The ISDS Foundation Board requested a “wish list” from each dental school administration and asked them to identify where these requested funds would be most needed for each educational program to succeed and most visible to those donating to the endowment. Below are the monies that will be awarded at this year’s ISDS Annual Session and where the monies were used.

UIC College of Dentistry awarded $8,000

The UIC-COD will be creating an enhanced commons area on the fifth floor and would like to add display monitors to the walls to share important announcements and information and highlight the many student successes that occur throughout the year.  The endowment would provide financial support for upgrading the commons space, including costs for adding power and data and purchasing two 2 x 55" digital signage screens.                                         

Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine-IL awarded $8,000

The primary focus is expanding instructional capabilities and enhancing treatment for geriatric and pediatric dental patients through advanced 3D printing technology. This technology will greatly improve dental prosthetics' accuracy and efficiency, benefiting students and patients. The award will provide a steady supply of materials for printing dental appliances, including different resins needed for various applications like dentures and retainers. Funds will also support the maintenance and upkeep of the 3D printing system, ensuring its long-term performance and reliability.

SIU School of Dental Medicine awarded $8,000

Funding will bolster the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine's (SIU SDM) Children's Oral Health Prevention Program. This vital initiative brings dental care directly to local early childhood and elementary schools, providing exams, cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants and connecting children without a regular dentist to SIU SDM's services. The program also offers a unique learning opportunity, with fourth-year SIU SDM students mentoring their first-year peers in preventive dentistry techniques and oral health education.