News briefs Grant will benefit county's children The Children and Families Commission of San Bernardino County has awarded the School of Dentistry the second year allotment of a nearly $1 million, two-year grant. The funds are being used for dental education and dental services for children ages 0-5, in San Bernardino County. Carla Lidner, SD'90, MS, assistant professor of dental educational services and director of the oral oncology clinic, and Charles J. Goodacre, SD'71, MSD, dean, submitted the grant proposal to the Commission. Yiming Li, DDS, MSD, PhD, professor of restorative dentistry assisted in writing the grant proposal. The funds are from the Proposition 10 tobacco tax, and are awarded to hospitals, child help agencies, day care centers, churches, and others to improve the well-being of children too young to qualify for school based programs. Todd Milledge, SD'88, PG'95, assistant professor and pediatric dentistry chair, will provide training to general dentists throughout the county to improve their skills and willingness to treat young children. In addition Tami Elloway Song, SD'90, will coordinate dental education throughout the county at various sites, including the high desert. Dr. Lidner has been working for several years to lay the groundwork for a dental education campaign aimed at parents with small children, called "Ready For Bed." She wants to teach parents about the benefits of saliva in a clean oral environment and the re-mineralization of teeth that occurs if one goes to bed with a clean mouth. "It's cheap, it's easy, and it has no side effects," informs Dr. Lidner. The Proposition 10 grant provides monies for this kind of teaching program and provide monies for direct dental treatment services for poor children throughout the county. "One person who really should be thanked for this money," confides Dr. Lidner, "is James Nethery, SD'65, clinical director, oral oncology clinic and assistant professor of restorative dentistry. He lobbied for a long time to get the taxation imposed on tobacco products in this state. It is largely because of Dr. Nethery's effort that we have this money available to do these good things for poor children." back to contents University | Medical_Center | LLU&MC_home | Search | Employment | News_&_events | Academics | Our_mission | Admissions | Registration | Research | Alumni | Student_resources All contents copyright © 2001 Loma Linda University. All rights reserved. Revised February 14, 2001 Send comments and questions to webmaster@univ.llu.edu  URL: http://www.llu.edu