Pediatric Dental Initiative Information

Pediatric Dental Initiative (PDI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that improves the lives of children through better oral health. Our mission is to deliver safe, high quality, and specialized dental treatment to underserved youth and promote oral health through education to communities of Northern California. PDI is the “safety net to the safety net” as a specialty provider caring for pediatric and special needs patients with severe decay requiring extensive dental work under general anesthesia. We collaborate and partner with Federally Qualified Health Centers, Indian Health Services, other community-based dental clinics, and private dentists to provide access to the highest quality of care at PDI’s AAAHC accredited ambulatory surgery center. With the dual mission of treatment combined with education, our Prevention Education program aims to increase oral health equity through case management, health education, and community outreach. Our team starts and ends every interaction with the question, “How can we support you and your family for better oral health? PDI celebrates 15 years and was formed when a group of health providers, child advocates, social service programs, and public health programs from Sonoma, Mendocino, and Lake Counties joined forces to address unmet oral health needs and disparate outcomes for low-income children. Since opening in 2008, PDI has treated more than 26,000 pediatric and special needs patients from 33 different counties, and educated 65,000 families about better oral health.