Once this weekend’s free dental event is over, local options for free or low-cost dental care will be a lot scarcer.

The main provider of discounted dental care is Family Health Center. It runs a network of medical and dental clinics that primarily serve the poor and uninsured.

For adults, the center charges a per-procedure fee for dental care. The fees are determined by a sliding scale based on income.

The less people make, the less they pay.

For children, the center treats those enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Both government programs, aimed at lower income families, include dental benefits.

Family Health doesn’t provide some specialized services, like certain dental surgeries, chief financial and operating officer Allen Patterson said. But it offers most of the services available at a typical dentist’s office, plus orthodontia, he said.

The center is nearly at capacity for dental care, Patterson said. Services are available at two clinics in Waco and one in McGregor.

But within the next 15 months, the center plans to double its dental capacity, from 26 dental chairs to 54, Patterson said.

It also will start offering dental care at more of its sites, he said.

The expansion is sorely needed, Patterson said.

The county has about 95,000 residents who live at or below 20 percent of the federal poverty level, which is the population the center targets.

Family Health served 13,900 of those people last year, Patterson said. Only about 2,000 of those patients were older than age 18, meaning there is a large number of adults not getting care, he said.

The reason for that is because there are virtually no funding sources for adult dental care, Patterson said.

One exception that could help some people is the county’s indigent health program. It started covering dental services earlier this year and refers clients to Family Health.

The program is only open to the very poor.

To qualify, people’s household income must not exceed 21 percent of the federal poverty limit. That’s about $2,274 annually for an individual and $4,630 for a family of four.

Only about 500 people are enrolled in the program.

For more information about Family Health’s services, call 750-8200. To reach the county’s indigent health program, call 757-5174 .

cculp@wacotrib.com

757-5744

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