subject: Low Cost Treatment Not For Those Who Can Afford Private Dental Treatment [print this page] A young woman with long black hair and a big smile sat alone in the small waiting room of the dental clinic. Seated on the dental chair on the other hand is a middle aged woman who is currently having her teeth examined by a young dentist. Had it not been for the low cost services provided by the clinic, she would never have been able to get any affordable dental care.
43 years ago, a dental clinic of a private non profit organization was started and presently continues to operate. A health clinic catering to the needs of pregnant women and infants was operated by the clinic in the organization's building for many years. Dental care is made available to children as well at the clinic. Private donations have always been what funded us, and the foundation was provided by what a woman left us in her will. Many agencies already duplicating the services we offered was what we discovered after reexamining our services the moment the foundation ran out. Since the services were not receiving any funding anymore, the clinic closed.
They did research on what kind of medical needs were not being met for low income persons, and they found that dentistry was not provided and decided their best economical bet was to rent out the main building and remodel the garage. The organization raised about $10,000 in donations to convert the former garage into a small dental office. With regards to the equipment for the office, we just used the equipment which had already been given by dentists for the previous dental clinic.
Prospective patients must come to the clinic for an interview to determine if they are eligible for low cost care. The clinic does allow patients who are capable of getting private dental care so that competition with area dentists is avoided. Whether or not a person is qualified is determined by the clinic's sliding scale, which also helps them determine how much to chage their patients. How many family members a person has, as well as his income, determines the fee scale.
The clinic would turn down a family of four that earns a monthly income of $1,000 or more. Dental examination is made available to that same family if their monthly earnings are from $800 to $1,000. A dental examination fee of $5 is given to families with incomes less than $800 a month. Dental examinations would cost $15 to $20 if done by private dentists in Santa Fe.
Adult patients show up at the clinic, and you can tell that dental care was not accessible for them maybe all their lives. The clinic's patients consist mainly of children. The clinic dentists gave many children dental treatments after qualifying for federally funded county special programs. One program can pay for most if not all of the clinic fees.
While there are around 20 patients scheduled by the clinic in a week, the dentists there can deal with many more. The secretary started scheduling appointments on specific days but not on specific times ever since too many patients failed to keep their appointments and left the dentists waiting. Dental services will be given to patients on a first come, first servd basis on the day of their appointment. We show those who come in the different ways they can take care of their teeth. The clinic also gives out toothbrushes and dental floss to patients who apparently don't use either. The teeth of these patients will look much better when they come back for their next appointment.
