Dental service organization (DSO) Pacific Dental Services (PDS) Foundation achieved several milestones, including awarding scholarships to more than 70 students, in 2023.
The Dr. Carolyn Ghazal Dental Assistant Scholarship program awarded more than $323,000 to 73 students, contributing a total of $1.5 million in scholarships since 2016 and supporting over 260 dental assisting students.
The Guatemala-based PDS Foundation ClĂnica Dental team led four weeklong missions to Xenacoj, Guatemala, providing free dental care and offering continuing care to 1,090 patients while also delivering ongoing training to clinic staff.
Additionally, the PDS Foundation Dentists for Special Needs office in Phoenix facilitated over 5,000 patient visits, including 500 new patients and 1,700 existing patients. The foundation did this while collaborating with Smile Generation to raise over $650,000 for the special needs dentistry program, expanding access to dental care and offering specialized clinician training.
