North Dakota Dental Foundation
We exist to promote oral health for all.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
In a 2017 study, many North Dakota’s rural, low income and Native American 3rd graders claimed to not have their own toothbrush at home. Children who see a dentist may be sent home with a toothbrush, floss, & paste after an office visit; however there are many kids across North Dakota who have not been to a dentist or can’t afford a simple toothbrush. We know that the brushing habits children develop at home in between office visits have a significant impact on their overall oral health.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Kids Without Cavities
We know that the brushing habits children develop at home in between office visits have a significant impact on their overall oral health. You likely send children home with a toothbrush, floss, & paste after an office visit; consider all of the kids across North Dakota who have not been to a dentist or can’t afford a simple toothbrush.
The North Dakota Dental Foundation is here to help. We’ve developed a straightforward approach called Kids Without Cavities. We created a resource website: kidswithoutcavities.com and have invested in social media advertising to parents of kids across North Dakota to encourage developing good oral health habits.
Discover more at: KidsWithoutCavities.com
North Dakota Mission of Mercy
On September 28-29, 2018, the North Dakota Dental Foundation and the North Dakota Dental Association sponsored a dental Mission of Mercy at the Bismarck Event Center. We served 916 patients. 570 volunteers (110 dentists, 48 hygienists, 105 assistants, and 4 lab techs) were supported by 120 cash and in-kind donors to provide urgently needed care, valued at $565,000, to 916 low-income patients.
On October 1-2, 2021, 448 volunteers provided over 703 patient visits at the 2nd ND Mission of Mercy at the Bismarck Events Center, in Bismarck, ND. Total $ Production Value= $556,480.00!
Discover more at: ndmom.org
Bright Futures in Dentistry
Bright Futures in Dentistry is focused on building a vibrant dental workforce in North Dakota. Specifically we aim to increase the number of licensed dental assistants in ND. We've helped drive a 23% increase in licensed dental assistants in ND since 2017. We've also helped increased applications to NDSCS dental assisting program by 55% from 2018 - 2019!
Currently, there is a significant shortage of dental assistants in North Dakota. In 2017, 70% of North Dakota dentists tried to hire a dental assistant and 40% were unsuccessful.
Bright Futures in Dentistry takes three actions::
1) Connect local dental assistants with high school students
2) Advertise to high school students
3) Pay for chair-side trained dental assistants to become DANB certified.
Discover more at: BrightFuturesinDentistry.com
Dental Rental
Dental Rental propels passionate providers to provide charitable dental care in their communities.
We know you became a dentist to care for others. You do this every day in your own practice, making a difference and helping your patients.
We know you also want to help patients outside of your practice through outreach activities, but there are some very real challenges such as the cost of purchasing portable dental equipment.
The North Dakota Dental Foundation is here to help. We have the following equipment available to support your charitable outreach :
1) Compressors
2) X-rays
3) Chairs
4) Stools
5) Trays
If you want to participate specifically in a school sealant program, we run all coordination through the ND Department of Health's Seal!ND program. Simply contact Seal! ND Prevention Coordinator Toni Hruby at [email protected]
1 Million Brushes
We collect both cash and in-kind donations to supply low-income & education-based child care centers, schools and organizations with oral health kits (toothbrushes, floss, paste, and education). We've partnered with the Great Plains Food Bank to distribute oral health kits through their school backpack program and food pantries across ND. They serve over 36,000 kids every year. If each of those kids received an oral health kit at least once a quarter, over the next 10 years that's over 1 million brushes.
Brush-It!
Brush-It! gets 1st graders to start the lifelong habit of brushing & flossing their teeth. Here's how:
1) Start-It! Teachers, enroll your 1st grade class. Your kids will receive FREE toothbrush kits.
2) Brush-It! Kids, brush your teeth for at least two minutes twice a day & floss for at least 30 days.
3) Track-It! Parents, help your kids track brushing & flossing. Check out our Track-It! tips!
Discover more at: Brush-It.org
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of clients who complete job skills training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Bright Futures in Dentistry
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
There is a shortage of dental assistants in ND. In 2017, 70% of ND dentists tried to hire a DA and 40% were unsuccessful. We pay chair-side trained DAs to train for & take the DANB exam.
Number of dental care products distributed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
1 Million Brushes
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We collect both cash and in-kind donations to supply low-income & education-based child care centers, schools and organizations with toothbrush kits (toothbrushes, floss, paste, and education).
Number of students receiving dental care in a school setting.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Dental Rental
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is the number of children receiving oral health education and a screening in a school that is 45% or higher on the free and reduced-fee school lunch program.
Number of patients served at the North Dakota Mission of Mercy.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
North Dakota Mission of Mercy
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Of 916 patients served in 2018, 98% listed cost as one of the reasons they had not received the dental care needed, 73% reported having no insurance to pay for dental care, and 43% had dental pain.
Annual Dental Assistant License Renewals in North Dakota
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students
Related Program
Bright Futures in Dentistry
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Currently, there is a significant shortage of dental assistants in North Dakota. In 2017, 70% of North Dakota dentists tried to hire a dental assistant and 40% were unsuccessful.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The North Dakota Dental Foundation has developed a straightforward approach called 1 Million Brushes where our goal is to supply North Dakota kids-in-need with 1 million toothbrush kits (toothbrushes, floss, & paste) by 2030 through a partnership with the Great Plains Food Bank which services low-income schools & food pantries across our state.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our primary strategy is to form a sustainable supply chain through partnerships to give away toothbrush kits (toothbrushes, floss, & paste) to children from across North Dakota.
We collect both cash and in-kind toothbrush kit donations from national partnerships to supply low-income & education-based child care centers, schools and organizations with toothbrush kits (toothbrushes, floss, paste, and education).
Specifically our supplier partnerships include: Patterson Dental Company where sales staff assist in smile drives with dental practices; America's Toothfairy who donates supplies through SmileMakers; & the North Dakota Department of Health Oral Health Program.
We then partner with distributors: Great Plains Food Bank who distributes toothbrush kits to low-income kids through their school backpack program, food banks and shelters across the state; Head Start North Dakota who cares for low-income preschool children; the Great North Pole; and individual schools.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The North Dakota Dental Foundation has established an annual budget cost center tied to endowment funds, a full-time staff member, supplier partnerships, distributor partnerships, & a volunteer team of over 35 "brush boosters" to ensure this project will continue in perpetuity.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since 2017, we've given away over 70,000 toothbrushes through our 1 Million Brushes program.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
We learned that young elementary students wanted an entire oral health kit instead of just a toothbrush, so we expanded our offering to provide more resources.
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
North Dakota Dental Foundation
Board of directorsas of 05/05/2023
Dr. Robert Lauf
Goose River Dental
Term: 2022 - 2024
Kristin Kenner
John Clayburgh
Mike Kudrna
Carla Schneider
Luke Trapp
Shelly Peterson
Chanel Malone
Kami Dornfeld
Chris Schmaltz
Lyndsie Gryskiewicz
Robert Lauf
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
No data
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
No data
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
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