Mission:
The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry Charitable Foundation (AACDCF) mission is to support the health, growth and development of society through the various programs administered within the organization, including but not limited to:

• Restoring the lives of domestic abuse survivors by providing dental care at no cost to the survivor
• AACD members helping members in the wake of natural disasters
• Investing in the advancement of cosmetic dentistry through education, research, scholarships and grants
• Fulfilling and regenerating the goodwill of the AACD and its membership by providing opportunities to give back

Click here to download the AACDCF Annual Report

Give Back A Smile
This program was developed to address a need in the communities of the members of the AACD. Volunteer members of the AACD agree to restore the broken and damaged teeth of survivors of domestic violence. Survivors know that bruises and scars will fade but broken and missing teeth will not. Our generous dentists erase that memory by restoring the smiles at no cost to the survivor thereby restoring their lives.

Whitening Program
This program was developed as an additional way the dentists can support the AACDCF. Ultradent and Discus Dental have agreed to donate whitening kits to volunteer dentists. The dental office then offers the whitening kits to their patient base for a donation of $225 to the AACDCF. These funds go directly to supporting the programs of the AACDCF. This brilliant program allows dentists, patients, and the sponsoring companies an opportunity to restore lives.

Disaster Relief Fund
The catastrophic effects of the storms of 2005 in the Gulf region inspired the leaders of the AACD and AACDCF to develop a at ready disaster relief program to support our members. In the first year of the program we were able to raise and distribute over $80,000 to members whose practices were directly affected by Katrina and Rita. In 2006 the fund assisted a member on the east coast that was recovering from the major flooding during the summer in that region. The Disaster Relief Fund stands ready to help our members in the case of future disasters.

2008-2009 Whitening Challenge Off to a Great Start

The AACDCF is happy to report that over 350 whitening kits have been requested within the last few weeks due to the launch of the 2008-2009 Whitening Challenge. The 2008-2009 Whitening Challenge runs from October 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009. Individuals or groups raising the most money through the 2008-2009 Whitening Challenge will be awarded exciting prizes and special recognition at the 25^th Anniversary AACD Scientific Session in Honolulu, Hawaii, from Monday, April 27 - Friday, May 1, 2009. Click here to find out how the GBAS Whitening Program works and to join the challenge. Click here to view a list of GBAS Whitening Program participants.

Sailing for Smiles

How often do your passion and charitable cause collide? Garrett Caldwell realized this moment when he dreamed up the idea to support the Give Back A Smile program by embarking on his lifelong dream of participating in the Pacific Challenge. The opportunity to not only sail from San Francisco Bay to the Hawaiian Islands but to help the AACD Charitable Foundation’s Give Back A Smile program erase the effects of domestic violence.

You can join them in this mission by donating on their behalf and riding along via their Web site and blog, www.sailingforsmiles.org.

We would like to extend a personal thank you to Garrett, Lissa, Frontier Dental Laboratories, Inc.and all of you who join them in this effort; it is truly an outstanding effort!

2008-2009 AACD Charitable Foundation
Board of Trustees