New Dental Clinic to Offer Free Treatment for Low Income Residents in Washington DC
A new dental clinic has opened to provide reduced rate dental care for low income residents in Washington DC.
The Bread for the City clinic only has two dental chairs, but it will make a huge difference to the local community. For a growing number of people, dental care is unaffordable. 80-year-old Florence Sandridge had not been to a dentist for over a decade because she couldn’t afford the cost of treatment, but she was able to get the treatment she needed last week after visiting the new clinic.
For people on low incomes, there are not many options and although there are a small number of free clinics in the city, the demand is much greater than the supply. Kristin Valentine, development director at Bread for the City, said that there simply are not enough clinics providing discounted dental care and this means that hundreds, even thousands of people, are going without the treatment they need.
Randi Abramson, medical director of the clinic said that demand for care was “enormous” and stressed the need for better access to affordable dental care, especially as studies have linked poor oral health to an increased risk of serious health conditions, including heart disease, strokes and diabetes.
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