Taking care of one's teeth is an excellent way to take care of one's overall health.

Research clearly indicates that poor oral health can play a contributing factor in the development of diabetes, heart disease, pneumonia and pregnancy complications.

Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children (LDCC) is dedicated to providing accessible, compassionate and effective care to Puget Sound children in need.

"We provide an effective and affordable way to provide services to children in need," Allisha Christianson, philanthropy associate, wrote in an email. "Our goals are to ensure dental care for all children."

The workload is tremendous.

LDCC offers a full array of affordable dentistry services at four Puget Sound dental clinics, as well as a school and community-based Dental Outreach program.

In 2014, LDCC provided more than 40,450 patient visits to low-income children ages 0 to 18.

No child is turned away due to an inability to pay. Take Darrell, for example.

For the first 17 years of his life, he had never seen a dentist; his family could not afford to pay for the care.

When he began to miss school due to tooth pain, he was referred to LDCC.  Darrell said he rarely smiled because he was too embarrassed by his tooth decay.

After 17 fillings, a root canal and two crowns, he has returned to school with the confidence a healthy smile brings with it.

Combined with other donations, the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) played a vital role in restoring Darrell's smile and confidence.

"The CFC gives donors an effective and affordable way to make a difference in their community while maximizing their support for the causes they care about," continued Christianson.

Ninety-three percent of the donations go to support the Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children, which has offices in Parkland, South Tacoma and Gig Harbor.

"Your gift makes a significant and critical investment in a child's oral health prevention, treatment and education to minimize long-term healthcare costs," wrote Carolyn McDougal, LDCC's president and CEO. "It allows children to reach their full potential."

LDCC's CFC donation number is 94061.

For more information, visit www.lindquistdental.org.