Desparately need free dental care--ill-suburbs?

Contact your local or state dental association and and see if there are any dentists who provide free or reduced cost care for low-income, disabled or senior patients.





Call your local health department and ask about health centers that provide dental care for free or on a sliding scale.





Your local United Way may also be aware of such a clinic. In some areas, you can reach them now by dialing 2-1-1 for "non-emergency information."





Go to a dental school, if there is one near you, for reduced costs.





If you are a senior citizen, call your local Area Agency on Aging or Office on Aging. If you can not find a listing in your local phone book on the "County Government" pages (usually marked with blue borders), call toll-free 1-800-677-1116 to find how to contact the Area Agency on Aging serving you.





Check http://www.toothwoman.net to see if low-cost or free dental services are available near you.





Check http://bphc.hrsa.gov and choose "Find a Health Center" to see if there is a low-cost clinic near you.





Check http://www.nfdh.org/DDS.html to see if your state has a "Donated Dental Services" program. D.D.S. is designed to locate dentists who will give free care to patients who are financially compromised due to medical problems. This is a process that will take a couple of months to get your information and then arrange for someone to see you. Not all states have D.D.S. programs.





If worse comes to worse, check out http://www.prosper.com and see if you can find a funding source.

Desparately need free dental care--ill-suburbs?
CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL HEALTH DEPT. THEY CAN TELL YOU WHERE TO FIND DENTAL CARE CLINIC.
Reply:Check with local colleges. Many times students will be allowed to work on patients free of charge as a learning experience. And dont worry... They have each done alot of it by the second semester.
Reply:it's a shame that in health care insurance that dental care is not included, that the county health care doesn't include dental care anymore, and even the dental schools want to be paid these days. Everyone is working and should have dental care coverage.





All I can suggest to you is get yourself a dental policy (used to cost about $10 a month) save up money for the balance of the money you need, and wait about 3 months after your policy goes into effect before you set a dental appointment. Usually your first cleaning is free, sometimes they charge for the x-rays and sometimes not so be prepared with the co-pay.
Reply:Hard to get something for free these days. A lot of dentists will let you pay a monthly fee for hardship clients in need of dental care. They would rather see your teeth healthy than worry about getting the whole fee upfront. Check with your local dental clinic and see if they will do this for you. Otherwise if your situation is really desperate and you've got a good story behind it, check with a TV show, like the Tyra Show, or something...they just did something like that on there for someone....maybe they'll take you too.
Reply:If you're in cook county, you can do to county hospital and they'll do extractions for free. Plan on a long day though. Show up between 6 and 7 am and get in the dental line. If it's an EMERGENCY they'll do it that day, if not, they'll give you an appointment to come back within a day or two.