Oral Health America Applauds New Benefit for Auto Workers.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 8, 2004

Oral Health America commends DaimlerChrysler, the United Auto Workers (UAW), and the affiliated Delta Dental Plans of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana for their leadership in promoting oral cancer prevention and early detection. DaimlerChrysler is the first major corporation in the U.S. to offer the new Delta Dental benefit, the OralCDx brush biopsy. The benefit will not only help detect oral cancer at an early (and more treatable) stage, but it can also significantly cut treatment costs.

"The OralCDx brush biopsy is a remarkably simple, painless procedure that has the potential to reduce oral cancer mortalities in our country," says Oral Health America President and CEO Robert Klaus. "We are thrilled that DaimlerChrysler, UAW, and Delta Dental have recognized the importance of providing this tremendous health benefit to employees and their families, and we urge others to follow their lead in making the connection between oral health and overall health and quality of life."

Over the past ten years, Oral Health America has worked closely with Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball and youth baseball to draw attention to oral cancer, especially to oral cancer risks associated with tobacco use. The organization developed the first national oral cancer public awareness campaign, and has played an integral role in encouraging dentists and other health care professionals to conduct routine oral exams on patients to increase the rate of oral cancers detected at an early (and more treatable) stage.

In the first-ever Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health in America, Dr. David Satcher highlighted a "silent epidemic" of oral diseases including oral cancer that burden populations of our society, and called for a national effort to improve oral health among all Americans. Five-year oral cancer survival rates have remained stagnant for the past four decades. The adoption of benefits such as this represent a change in the way that Americans are addressing oral health issues.

Oral Health America is the nation's premier independent advocacy organization dedicated to raising awareness of oral health's importance to overall health. More information is available at www.oralhealthamerica.org and www.nstep.org.