County to offer new dental services in the North County
SAN JOSE – The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisor voted unanimously today to lease dental office space in Mountain View, providing access to dental health care for North County residents who would otherwise go without.
The new offices will house a dental clinic serving patients who were previously seen at the current Sunnyvale clinic, and will now be able to serve additional low income patients. These patients may include residents that have Medi-Cal, Valley Health Plan, and some commercial insurers. The clinic will be open to those without insurance at a sliding scale up to 200% of the Family Poverty Level, which is about $50,000 for a family of four.
“Dental health care is an essential. It's not a ‘nice to have,’ it’s a ‘have to have’ component of health care,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian about the expansion of dental care services. Simitian serves as President of the Board of Supervisors and as Chair of the Board’s Health and Hospital Committee. “The County is stepping up to provide these services closer to home for North County residents,” he said.
The County will be leasing space at 2486 El Camino Real in Mountain View. This space is equipped with nine dental suites, is completely furnished with new equipment, including an x-ray unit, and is already ADA compliant. The facility is easily accessible by transit as it sits on a major thoroughfare.
“We are excited to expand our dental services and significantly improve access to the full-range of oral health services to residents in North County,” commented Paul Lorenz, CEO, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center hospital and clinics. “A person’s oral health is important and can affect their overall general health. Being able to expand these services to more residents of our community is an investment in their health.
The clinic will allow the County to more effectively respond to the Department of Health Care Services’ Dental Initiative. The Dental Initiative’s goal is to increase the number of children receiving preventative services by 10% over a five-year period, reduce the risk of tooth decay, and improve dental care for children and families.
The new site will reduce the three-month wait time to get a dental appointment for adults and seniors and will relocate the dental service from VHC Sunnyvale to the new El Camino Real site. This move will allow SCVMC to quickly double its capacity to provide dental services to seniors.
Residents should expect services at the new clinic by spring of 2020. Dental services will continue at Valley Health Center Sunnyvale, which is to be remodeled in 2020. An additional primary care dental office for oral health screenings for woman and children will open in early 2021. Mobile dental services will continue throughout Sunnyvale and Mountain View.