East Palo Alto welcomes new sliding-scale clinic
A new sliding-scale dental clinic has opened in East Palo Alto; the new clinic will offer dental treatment to thousands of low income families and people without insurance.
The clinic will be partly funded by patient payments, which will be set at limits that reflect the patient’s individual income; the sliding-scale system enables patients that have a very low income to access care for a very low fee in return.
The East Palo Alto area is home to hundreds of people without insurance and many low income families; before the new clinic opened, there were no facilities for these people in the area and people have gone without the treatment they desperately need for many years now. The dental clinic will open at the Ravenswood Family Health Center and will accept patients that are currently registered with the community health centre.
It is estimated that around 60 percent of patients will be children, with hundreds of children in the area suffering with mild oral health conditions including cavities and decay. Dentists will offer a range of basic treatments as well as preventive services, which will help to improve general standards of oral health amongst children and encourage them to adopt positive oral hygiene habits.
The new dental clinic is a state of the art facility that features the latest technology, modern, airy treatment rooms, comfortable and relaxing patient spaces and added bonuses including flat screen televisions on the ceilings of dentist’s rooms; this will help to relax patients and distract them from the treatment they are undergoing; this facility will be particularly beneficial for children and patients that suffer from dental anxiety.
Dental health problems are rife in the area, where there is only one dentist to treat around 80,000 patients either with low income or no insurance. Now, with the help of the new clinic and the team at Ravenswood, it is hoped that many more people will benefit from affordable care and will subsequently enjoy improved standards of oral health.
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