Free Dental Care to Underserved

Community News

Free Dental Care to Underserved
HealthLink Dental Clinic and Temple University's Kornberg School of Dentistry Partner to Expand Free Dental Care to Underserved

Location: HealthLink Dental Clinic, 1775 Street Road, Southampton, PA

HealthLink Dental Clinic has partnered with Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry to expand free dental care to low-income adult residents of Bucks and Montgomery Counties. This new partnership means HealthLink will provide Temple Dental students with the opportunity to gain additional hands-on experience through a rotation at the clinic located at 1775 Street Road in Southampton, Bucks County. The students will be supervised by faculty who specialize in root canal therapy.

“We are looking forward to this relationship with the Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University,” says Bernie Dishler, DDS, Board President at HealthLink.  “It will benefit our patients by expanding the types of dentistry that we can provide. It will benefit the students by giving them opportunities that they may not have at the Kornberg School of Dentistry. “

Dean Amid Ismail of the Kornberg School of Dentistry concurs with Dr. Dishler. “We are proud to be associated with HealthLink. This partnership furthers our school’s commitment to provide care to underserved populations, while also giving our students the opportunity to perform more treatments. Patients will gain access to advanced endodontic treatments and restorative dentistry.”

Since 2001, HealthLink has provided patients with high quality dental services including: oral exams, x-rays, fillings, simple extractions, oral hygiene, and patient education at no cost.  Beginning on March 7, 2016, the collaboration with Temple will expand the scope of services available to current and new patients to include root canals and eventually, crowns.

These expanded services will benefit underserved adults in the community who qualify for free dental care at HealthLink.  To be eligible, a patient must: be at least 18 years of age, be currently employed, have a household income within 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, and be a resident of either Bucks or Montgomery County.  Those interested in making an eligibility appointment can call (215) 364-4247. 

###

HealthLink Dental Clinic is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the overall health of qualified low-wage earning adults in Bucks and Montgomery counties by providing free preventative and restorative dental services and oral health education.  HealthLink is located at 1775 Street Road in Southampton, Pennsylvania.  More information is available online at www.healthlinkdental.org.

Temple University Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry promotes health through the education of diverse general and specialty dentists; provides comprehensive, patient-centered, evidence-based and outcome-driven oral health care; and engages in research, scholarly activities and community service. Temple Dental serves more than 22,000 patients per year, and delivers more than $1.5 million in free care each year. Temple Dental is located at 3223 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140. More information and appointment scheduling is available by calling 215-707-2900; information about academics, admissions, clinics, faculty and more can be found online at http://dentistry.temple.edu/.