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December 2004

• ADA Foundation establishes grants for pilot programs addressing access to care issues for older adults, using a $250,000 grant from GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.

January 2005

• Deadline for applications for Access to Oral Health Care for Older Adults Initiative grant applications. The ADA Foundation receives an unprecedented 178 grant applications during the six-week request for proposals window.

June 2005

• Six pilot programs receive grants: The American Red Cross, the National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped, the New York State Dental Foundation, Ohio Dental Association, Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry and the Spokane Regional Health District.

October 2005

• The 2005 Aging Conference convenes at annual session in Philadelphia, presented in cooperation with Special Care Dentistry and the ADA Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations, and underwritten by GSK Consumer Healthcare.
• Building on the success of the ADA Access to Oral Health care for Older Adults Initiative, GSK Consumer Healthcare pledges $1 million over three years to the ADA Foundation to address the oral health needs of older adults.

October 2006

• GSK Consumer Healthcare underwrites a daylong CE program at annual session in Las Vegas, "Bringing Mainstream Dentistry to the Aging Population," that draws a capacity crowd of more than 750 dental professionals.
• The ADA House of Delegates passes Resolution 5H-2006. Strategies to Address Oral Health Issues of Vulnerable Elders includes more than two dozen specific strategies in the areas of advocacy; education of health care workers, the public and policymakers; research; exploring new dental benefit options for elders; and exploring dental workforce needs to support elders' oral health care. The resolution is the culmination of two years of study by a task force convened at the direction of Res. 73H-2004.

September 2007

• The OralLongevity initiative—a joint effort of the ADA, the ADA Foundation and GSK Consumer Healthcare—will launch with a special 48-page supplement in the September Journal of the American Dental Association, "Oral Health and the Aging Population"; distribution of the OralLongevity—A Healthy Smile for Life patient brochure and an Oral Health Awareness educational DVD program via the September JADA and at the OralLongevity booth at annual session in San Francisco; a dedicated continuing education track at annual session; and a special Web area on ADA.org.

2008

• The OralLongevity initiative will focus on outreach to consumers and oral health care providers.