Most adults in the United States—96%, according to one survey—know about the connection between oral health and overall health. Indeed, one out of every four of us says oral health is even “more important” than physical health. All the same, more than half of us who have an oral health problem didn’t seek care. A quarter of us said they simply couldn’t pay for it.
As it is across the U.S., need for low-cost dental care in Philadelphia is great. According to the 2022 Southeastern PA Regional Community Health Needs Assessment (rCHNA), “limited access to dental care” is a major public health concern in the city (page 237). Even among Pennsylvanians Medicaid enrollees, dental services’ cost remains “the most significant barrier,” according to the American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute.
Penn Dental Medicine at PHMC on Cedar is expanding access to low-cost and low-income dental care in West and Southwest Philadelphia. Our dental clinic at 54th Street and Cedar Avenue in Cobbs Creek helps more people in Philadelphia get low-cost dental care and stay in better oral health.
Why You Should Consider a Student Dental Clinic for Your Care
When you don’t have dental insurance, as 76.5 million Americans don’t, you face limited options for accessing needed dental health services.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers some suggestions. But not all those options will necessarily be available exactly when you need them or match your specific situation. For example, free dental clinics sponsored by local health departments may not follow a regular schedule. Or, you may not qualify for any current clinical trials.
However, you can depend on a student dental clinic to offer dental care on an ongoing basis, and at a much lower cost than you’d pay at most private practices.
Students in dental schools need to treat patients. The experience is a vital part of their learning. By providing treatment in a dental clinic, these students gain proficiency and confidence. And patients pay less in return for the valuable contribution they’re making to future dentists’ education and formation.
In addition, clinics connected to dental schools are more likely than low-income dental clinics to use state-of-the-art techniques and materials. They also frequently use innovative methods, including some developed by the professors supervising student dentists.
And because dental schools are permanent fixtures in their communities, patients don’t have to worry about dependability. They can make and keep appointments at any dental office. Should they need follow-up care, they can go back without having to start their dental treatment over again somewhere else.
Your Low-Cost Philadelphia Dental Clinic in Cobbs Creek
Penn Medicine and the not-for-profit Public Health Management Corporation collaborated to create the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar.
Housed in the former Mercy Philadelphia Hospital building, the health center is a resource hub for achieving health equity and sustaining public health. It’s a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) accessible to everyone, regardless of age, income, or insurance status. “[V]irtually every aspect of the campus was engineered to lower barriers to care, financial or otherwise,” writes journalist Alexander Gelfand.
The health center’s physicians coordinate specialist care for patients, including the low-cost dental care PDM at PHMC on Cedar provides. This commitment to comprehensive care reinforces the connection between oral health and overall health most Americans recognize. Additionally, patients can contact PDM at PHMC on Cedar directly to make appointments.
At PDM at PHMC on Cedar , a mix of third- and fourth-year dental students and one-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residents from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine—one of the nation’s oldest and most respected dental schools—treat patients in a state-of-the-art, 11-chair facility.
Our students provide care under the supervision of experienced dentists. These dentists are respected nationally and often internationally for their accomplishments. Many of them are also on the School of Dental Medicine faculty.
Patients who come to PDM at PHMC on Cedar receive preventive general dentistry services that include:
- Dental hygiene (tooth cleaning).
- Gum inspection.
- Oral cancer screenings.
- Dental restoration (fillings and crowns).
Ultimately, PDM at PHMC on Cedar will also provide basic oral surgery. Should you need any of PDM’s other specialties, we will coordinate your care with our 40th Street and Locust Street location, easily accessible by car or public transit.
And PDM at PHMC on Cedar is a welcome Philadelphia low-cost dentist. As an FQHC, we offer a sliding fee scale for patients who need it. We accept all Medicaid plans offered to residents of Southeastern Pennsylvania. And we offer manageable financing plans for qualifying patients, including a six-month, no-interest option.
If you need low-cost dental care in Philadelphia, schedule your first appointment now by calling us at 855-887-9229.
