F. Gene Dixon, the founding CEO of Delta Dental, died Friday, Oct. 26 at the age of 84, Delta Dental announced Wednesday.

Dixon, who led the company for 18 years, became vice president and managing director of California Dental Association, which later became the San Francisco-based Delta Dental of California, in 1959. At that time, dentistry was largely regarded as uninsurable, company officials said.

Under his guidance, the company established the National Association of Dental Service Plans, which later became the national Delta Dental Plans Association, in 1965. The plans now cover more than 50 million people nationwide.