“As a volunteer you really affect change in people’s lives. 

That’s about as good as it gets.”

Steven L. Yarbrough, DDS, FAGD

CADF Volunteer

 A graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio dental school, Steven L.  Yarbrough, DDS, FAGD has been in private practice at Westgate Family Dental since  1979.  Throughout his dental career, he has always made it a point to give back to the  community and offer his time and skills to people in need—from veterans to political  refugees. Dr. Yarbrough has been recognized as an outstanding dentist by both Austin  Monthly and Texas Monthly magazines.

Dr. Yarbrough signed up as a HAAM provider in the early days of the program and is  glad he did. “I have really enjoy working with my HAAM patients,” he said. “Most of  my HAAM patients are young and trying to make their mark in the music world.  Often  their dental care ended with their parents.”

Dr. Yarbrough has cared for nearly 40 HAAM patients since 2013. He recalls recently treating a patient who had unsightly decay on one of his front teeth.  “The work we did was transformative.  It just completely changed his smile.  Our HAAM patients really do appreciate what we do for them so much.  That’s the best pay you can get.”

Dr. Yarbrough encourages young dentists who have time on their schedule to consider volunteering with a program like HAAM or one of CADF’s other charitable care programs.  “Volunteering is a great way to hone your clinical skills while doing something good for someone else.”

Don’t forget: HAAM Benefit Day is Tuesday, September 1, 2015.

The Capital Area Dental Foundation is deeply grateful to the following dentists who volunteered their time to care for CADF patients between April and June 2015. Thank you for giving back to the community and using your talent and skills to transform lives and restore dignity.

For more information about becoming a CADF volunteer, please contact Liz Rubio at l.rubio@capitalareadentalfoundation.org or 512-992-1217.  To read more about our programs, click here. 

 If you are interested in testing the waters as a volunteer and would like to accept a single case, consider taking the One Smile Pledge.  Click here for more information. 

 Goodwill Central Texas:

“The One Smile campaign was created to make it easier for local dentists to test the waters and experience volunteering with the Capital Area Dental Foundation in a low-pressure way. The feedback we are getting from dentists is excellent. Giving back to the community feels good and CADF makes it easy to help patients in need in the Austin area.”

Kent Macaulay, DDS

Chairman, Capital Area Dental Foundation, Access to Care Committee

This past spring, CADF launched the One Smile campaign with the goal of recruiting new dentists to provide care for one CADF patient.  Because of you, we have achieved this goal.  However, the demand for charitable dental care in the Austin area continues to explode and we are facing a shortage of dental providers, especially in Central Austin/downtown area. We also have a special need for oral surgeons, endodontists and prosthodonists.

A special thank you to the following 31 dentists who have already taken the One Smile pledge.  If you are a dental provider and would like to take the One Smile pledge today, click here or contact Liz Rubio for more information at 512.992.1217 or l.rubio@capitalareadentalfoundation.org.

A happy patient and his team of dental providers including Ashely Nichols (RDA), Nga Villanueva (RDH) and incoming Clinical Director, Dr. Shailee Gupta.

The Capital Area Dental Foundation is grateful for the individuals and organizations that support our charitable work in the community.  Without your support, we could not connect our dedicated dentists to people in the community who need dental care, but can’t afford it on their own.

One of CADF’s most generous and loyal donors has been the St. David’s Foundation.   Led by CEO Earl Maxwell, the St. David’s Foundation has been a title sponsor of the Annual Gala for the past five years and funds the HAAM Dental Program.  In addition, the St. David’s Foundation nominated CADF for the Greenlights Nonprofit of the Year award, which we won, in 2014.

Read below what Madge Vasquez, Director of Dental Operations and Lisa Trahan, Director of Communications, had to say about increasing access to dental care in the Austin area and St. David’s longstanding relationship with CADF and our partner, the Capital Area Dental Society (CADS):

1. Why has dental health been such a big priority for the St. David’s Foundation?

Our former CEO, Neal Kocurek, was a visionary community leader who was the first to advocate for our work in oral health.  In the late 1990s, upon learning that a city-owned mobile van used to provide care to the homeless was underutilized, he invited the City of Austin to partner with St. David’s Foundation to share the first mobile dental van.  After sharing the mobile dental van for a few years, the Foundation offered to manage the full operations of the mobile dental van to focus on school children.  We began hosting volunteer dentists from CADS as providers.  After a few years, we invested in an additional mobile dental unit and started to grow the program to what it is today – a fleet of nine state-of-the-art mobile dental units and 50 full-time paid clinical and operations staff.  We believe we are the largest school-based mobile dental program providing charity care in the nation.

2. What are your key dental health programs?

St. David’s Foundation Mobile Dental Program has been operating for the last 17 years, and offers free school-based dental screenings, preventive and restorative treatment and a Complex Care Program.  Through the Complex Care Program, we partner with private dentists in the community and partially subsidize the cost of complex dental care for our pediatric patients.

We also have a robust Data Analytics Program where we are measuring the impact our programs are having on reducing tooth decay in our region.  One of our newest programs is an Oral Health Education program that is training the next generation of youth through a “High-School Health-Tech Train the Trainer Program.” We launched this pilot program in Hays County last school year and have trained dozens of high school health-tech students to deliver oral health education classes to over 2,000 elementary school children in Hays County.

3. Besides CADF, what other dental organizations does the St. David’s Foundation support?

St. David’s Foundation is considered the largest oral health funder in the Central Texas region.  Our “Healthy Smiles” Program Area provides grant funds to Central Texas non-profits that provide oral health services in our five county region.   Some of our “Healthy Smiles” grantees include:  Manos de Cristo Dental Clinic, CommuniCare in Kyle, Central South Texas Community Health Center in Luling, the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, Lone Star Circle of Care Dental Clinic and the Aids Services of Austin Jack Sansing Dental Clinic.   In 2015, we granted a total of $2.5 million to area non-profits providing oral health services.

4. David’s Foundation has been one of CADF’s earliest and most loyal, generous supporters. How did the relationship come about?

Our partnership with CADF came about through our relationship with the Capital Area Dental Society. The volunteerism, professional guidance and donated dental services of CADS dentists on our mobile dental vans during the early years,  was critical to the evolution of our dental program.  Capital Area Dental Society dentists, many of whom were involved in the creation of CADF, helped us incubate and grow the the Foundation’s Mobile Dental Program.   We continue to consider CADF a key partner today.

5. David’s Foundation has been a big part of CADF’s growth and evolution into a viable charitable foundation/nonprofit.  You nominated us for the Greenlights Nonprofit of the Year award in 2014. What role do you think CADF plays in the community today? What role could it play tomorrow?

We believe the CADF plays a critical leadership role in highlighting the importance of oral health in the broader Central Texas community and the gaps that continue to exist.  The Capital Area Dental Foundation is uniquely positioned to engage private practice dentists and involve them in efforts to increase access to oral health care, especially for the adult population.

We were proud to nominate CADF for the Greenlights award.  We did so not only because we believe in your mission, but because we believe that organizationally CADF has been thoughtful about creating strategic community partnerships with other non-profits that are striving to bring oral health services to the populations that need it most.

6. Does St. David’s Foundation have any new exciting initiatives or announcements that you’d like to share?

Well, for starters we recently announced our new Clinical Director for the St. David’s Foundation Mobile Dental Program – Dr. Shailee Gupta.  Dr. Gupta is a former CADS Executive Board member and has over 12 years of dentistry experience in both private practice and public health dentistry and started working with the Foundation nine years ago.  She has been a key team member as we have expanded the Dental Program and we are confident that her years of experience with St. David’s Foundation as a Staff Dentist, Clinical Resource Dentist and Lead Dentist have set a solid foundation for the leadership she will provide as Clinical Director.  Dr. Gupta will assume full responsibility of the Clinical Director role upon Dr. Patrice Kistenmacher’s retirement after October 2, 2015.  We are grateful for the nine years of service and leadership Dr. Kistenmacher has invested in growing our Mobile Dental Program and its impact in the community.

We are also delighted to announce that St. David’s Foundation is in a strong growth mode.  In 2015, we plan to invest about $65 million in grant funds to health-related non-profits in the Central Texas community.  By 2017, we expect that number to be about $100 million which will make us one of the top five health foundations in the country.  We will be in the same league as some of the leading health foundations in the nation, like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  We feel a great sense of stewardship and responsibility as we strategically invest these grant funds in our five county region in Central Texas.

The Capital Area Dental Foundation is proud to announce that it has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Austin Community Foundation.  The funds will be used for operational expenses to sustain and grow the Foundation’s charitable care programs.

“We are grateful and proud to be a recipient of this generous grant from the Austin Community Foundation,” said CADF Chairman, Alan B. Moore, DDS.  “The Austin Community Foundation does so much for the community and we look forward to forging a strong partnership that will bring much needed dental care to people who desperately need it.” 

A special thank you to the team at the Austin Community Foundation and the Henry Renfert, Jr. Foundation advisory committee for approving this generous grant.  We look forward to working together to expand access to oral health care in the Austin area.

Join us on November 20, 2015 at Avery Ranch Golf Club More Details, including online registration available SOON here!

CADF Board Chairman Dr. Alan Moore with Dr. Barry Rouch, Dr. Stan LaCroix, Kevin Kaylakie and Dr. Roland Davies.

The Capital Area Dental Foundation would like to extend its deepest appreciation and gratitude to a few of our most active  volunteers who will be transitioning off the CADF Board of Directors this summer:

• Dr. Roland Davies (former Vice Chairman)
• Kevin Kaylakie (former Development Chairman)
• Dr. Stan LaCroix (former Treasurer)
• Dr. Barry Rouch (former Recruitment Chairman)

Thank you not only for committing your time and expertise to expand access to oral health care in our community, but for doing so with such a generous heart and spirit.  We look forward to continuing to work together on the Gala, the CADS/CADF Golf Tournament and more.

Join the Sustainer’s Circle Today! When Darryl C. Baucum, DDS was a dental student at the University of Texas in Houston, he was active with the America Student Dental Association. “Access to care was a big issue for us,” Dr. Baucum recalled. Today, Dr. Baucum is an active CADF volunteer with both the Healthy Smiles for Texans and St. Vincent de Paul programs and a loyal donor to the CADF Sustainer’s Circle, a monthly giving program created to support the Foundation’s charitable work. “The Sustainer’s Circle is an easy way to give back whatever your financial situation.  Even a small monthly amount makes a huge difference and goes a long way towards helping people access dental care who might otherwise go without.” -Darryl C. Baucum, DDS.

A donation as little as $25 per month is enough to connect two low-income patients with emergency dental care that will relieve their pain, restore their dignity and prevent more serious complications. See who has already joined the CADF Sustainer’s Circle.

Questions? Call Kristen Whaley at 512-992-1217 or emailk.whaley@capitalareadentalfoundation.org.

Dr. Don Taylor presenting at the 2015 CADF Gala

Congratulations to Don Taylor, DDS, for being named “Dentist of the Year” by the Capital Area Dental Society.  

Dr. Taylor is a strong advocate, generous donor and committed volunteer with the Capital Area Dental Foundation (CADF). He is also a Founding Member of the CADF Sustainer’s Circle annual giving program. Thank you, Dr. Taylor, for your commitment to charitable dentistry!

Imagine being too ashamed to smile or interview for a job? Or surviving on soft food because so many of your teeth are missing? Or having nowhere to turn but the ER when your pain gets so bad that you can’t take it any more?

An easy and affordable way YOU can help the many people needing dental care in the Austin area is by joining the CADF Sustainer’s Circle.

So far, 25 donors have stepped up and made an annual commitment and many more have made one-time pledges. A donation as little as $25 per month is enough to connect two low-income patients with emergency dental care that will relieve their pain, restore their dignity and prevent more serious complications.

Can you help us meet our goal of enrolling 40 new Sustainer’s Circle members by July 1, 2015?  Your generosity will be publically recognized on our web site and social media, the CADS Capital Star and at our Annual Gala.  To sign up today at any giving level, click here.