Contact: Ellen Jones
Corporate and Public Affairs
(517) 347-5241
Email: ejones@deltadentalmi.com

Delta Dental Provides $25,000 to Care Free Clinic in Lansing

Support will help open dental clinic for underserved residents in mid-Michigan

February 1, 2007 (Okemos, Mich) — Delta Dental of Michigan is providing a grant of $25,000 to the Care Free Medical Clinic in Lansing so it can expand its services to people in need of dental care.

Care Free has been offering medical care to uninsured residents at clinics in Lansing and Mason since 2004. The $25,000 grant from Delta Dental will be used to help launch a dental clinic at 3333 S. Pennsylvania. Care Free officials hope to begin seeing dental patients in March.

“Many of our underserved citizens either forego needed dental treatment because they can’t afford to pay for it or they end up in the emergency department of a local hospital,” said Thomas J. Fleszar, D.D.S., M.S., president and chief executive officer of Delta Dental. “With this support, and with services volunteered by local dentists, we hope to provide an alternative that will address emergency dental needs and establish good preventive dental care in a friendly community setting.

“We’re delighted that Care Free is planning to extend its services to address oral health. We know, and as scientific research is increasingly telling us, oral health and overall health are inextricably linked. What happens in the mouth affects the rest of the body. By attending to the oral health needs of underserved citizens, their overall health status is likely to improve.”

“Delta Dental’s generous contribution will help us fulfill our dream of providing free dental treatment to thousands of disadvantaged residents,” said Dr. John Brewster, a recently retired dentist who is volunteering his time to establish the clinic and provide treatment. Brewster said he is counting on other dental professionals to volunteer and their time and expertise to serve Care Free patients.

About Care Free Medical, Inc.
Care Free Medical, Inc. is a not-for-profit family health center that was established July 1, 2004 to ensure easy access to quality health care for residents in mid-Michigan. Since it opened, the medical clinic has served more than 3,700 patients.

About Delta Dental
Delta Dental of Michigan is a not-for-profit dental service corporation dedicated to advancing and promoting the improvement of oral health. The company, with its affiliates in Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee is a member of Renaissance Health Service Corporation, a family of companies that combined is one of the largest dental plan administrators in the nation. In 2006, the enterprise paid out more than $1.7 billion for dental care for more than 6.2 million enrollees. Offices are located in Okemos, Farmington Hills, and Grand Rapids, Michigan; Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis, Tennessee.