Season of Giving: FDA’s Favorite Dental Charities

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…to give back! Healthy smiles are one of the best gifts, and we believe that everyone should have access to oral health care.  That’s why we work with Dental Lifeline and Dancing with the Dentists to help people in our community receive the dental care they need.  If you haven’t heard of these two wonderful organizations, let us help you learn more about great work being done in oral health!

Dental Lifeline is a national charitable organization that was founded in 1974.  Its mission is to improve the oral health of people with disabilities or who are elderly or medically fragile.  Through its flagship program, Donated Dental Services (DDS), oral care is provided to people who cannot afford necessary treatments and cannot receive public aid.  With its network of 15,000 dentists and 3,500 labs nationwide, the DDS program has provided $378 million in donated therapies and transformed the lives of 120,550 people.

Our beloved Dr. Knock envisioned Dancing with the Dentists and drew from his local dental network to build a ballroom dancing competition that generated funds for several local charities.  Our very own Dr. Brunacini and his wife, Jenny, won the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy in Season 1!  Dancing with the Dentists Season 4 will take place in 2022, and will feature 10 courageous dental professionals on the ballroom floor, showing off their moves to raise money for The Root Cellar and Dental Lifeline.  A fun competition that also makes a real impact, Dancing with the Dentists raised over $40,000 for charity at their last event!

We have also worked with Dentists Who Care for ME and look forward to continuing to support their great work when they are able to hold the next event for their services.

Giving back and caring about our community has never felt more important. 2020 has been full of challenges, to say the least.  This holiday season, we also look forward to supporting our local business community.  As a locally-owned small business, we feel grateful to be a part of such a conscientious and kind community.  We’re all in this together!

We wish you a wonderful and safe holiday season!  Thank you for being a part of the FDA Family!

*Image courtesy of www.shutterstock.com

 

Dancing with the Dentists Season 3

You’ve heard the rumors, you’ve even heard some of the tales… well it’s back again in 2018! That’s right everyone, Dancing with the Dentists Season 3 is May 11th!

Now in its third year, Dancing with the Dentists brings dentists from the Maine community together with a night of dancing, excitement, and fun! Falmouth Dental Arts has a strong tie to this event as it was conceptualized and developed by Falmouth Dental Arts’ own founding dentist, Dr. Glen Knock.

But that’s not the only reason to attend: the evening was developed first and foremost for a good cause and will benefit two local nonprofit organizations: The Root Cellar and Dental Lifeline. Both organizations assist those unable to afford dental treatment by providing donated dental services. All profits from the event will go directly to those two organizations – Dancing with the Dentists Season 2 raised over $40,000, making a huge positive impact on their operations.

The Italian Heritage Center in Portland will serve as the competitive stomping grounds for the event, with the competition kicking off at 5:30 pm on Friday, May 11, 2018. The dental dancers and their professional counterparts will show their best moves to the crowd and a panel of local celebrity judges. Shannon Moss of Code Gratitude and former news reporter/anchor will host the evening.

Our own doctors Dr. Knock and Dr. Brunacini both danced in previous seasons, in fact… Dr. Brunacini won Season 1 of Dancing with the Dentists! “It was such a great experience,” Dr. Brunacini commented. “I actually enjoyed the dancing and performing aspect of it, and couldn’t believe that I won!  The opportunity to raise money and awareness for the organizations while learning a new skill was a lot of fun.”

While we can’t guarantee it just yet, Dr. Karagiorgos has hinted at his own participation in the near future. “I am sad that the timing didn’t work out this time but I really look forward to strutting my stuff at the next Dancing with the Dentists event,” he said. “What a great way to be involved and serve our community! With Glen’s rich history of dance and Brian winning the inaugural competition, the stakes are high and the pressure is on. When it’s my turn to compete in the future I look forward to representing FDA and performing in a way that would make our staff and our patients proud.” We can’t wait!

Have we got your interests piqued? If so, make sure to buy your tickets online today. If you have more questions about the event, please ask us anything during your next appointment! We are happy to help support the greater Maine dental community by sharing this event with others and supporting a great cause.

Dancing With The Dentists a huge success!

DwD logo no textIn it’s inaugural season, Dancing With the Dentists exceeded all expectations in raising well over $40,000 for Portland’s Healthcare for the Homeless Dental Clinic, and Maine Dental LifeLine.  Conceived by Dr. Glen Knock and patterned after the wildly popular “Dancing With The Stars”, local dentists were paired with professional ballroom dance instructors to put on a dazzling display of footwork and fun.  Over 400 people attended and cheered the contestants on at the Italian Heritage Center in Portland.  Host Shannon Moss, DJ Mike Violette,  and judges Governor John Baldacci, physician and author Dr. Christiane Northrup, and radio personality Ken Altshuler helped make the program one to remember.

Each contestant danced either a ballroom or Latin dance and the audience and judges voted for who they thought was the best.  None had ever done ballroom dancing before September. A wonderful twist was that the dancers were all dentists married to dentists and the vote was tallied for the best couple.  There was even a family angle with Dr. Joseph Penna and his wife, Maine Dental Association President Dr. Demi Kouzounas competing against their daughter and son-in-law, Drs. Nichol Penna and Doug Delli Colli!  Also dancing were the overall winners,  Dr. Jenny Fultz, the dentist at the Healthcare for the Homeless Dental Clinic, with her husband Dr. Brian Brunacini. Drs. Killian and Tarryn MacCarthy rounded out the four couples.

The generosity of Northeast Delta Dental and Tom’s of Maine helped underwrite the program, with Delta’s donation earmarked for Dental LifeLine.  Many other donations and ticket sales helped make this first ever Dancing With The Dentists a huge success.  Everyone is looking forward to next November and the second Dancing With The Dentists!

Check out some pictures of the event! Photo credit to No Umbrella Media!