A dental clinic that has been providing students in the Lemon Grove School District with free checkups and other services for nearly 10 years is expanding its reach.
The University of California San Diego Free Dental Clinic, housed since 2012 at the Lemon Grove School District’s Academy for the Sciences and Humanities, will now be available to all of the district’s nearly 3,600 students on all eight of its campuses. Before this year, the clinic just served the students at the K-8 Lemon Grove Academy and their families, according to Lemon Grove School District Superintendent Erica Balakian.
The Lemon Grove dental clinic is part of a student-run free clinic project from the UCSD School of Medicine Medical, Dental and Orthodontic Clinic. There are four San Diego County clinics overseen by Dr. Irvin Silverstein. The one at the academy in Lemon Grove is the only full-service, school-based clinic in the county, Silverstein said.
Through grant funding, the project’s clinic provides free medical evaluations, dental screenings and primary health care. Services at the clinics include no-cost preventive care and general restorative care and specialty services including endodontics, oral surgery, orthodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics and pediatric dentistry. The Lemon Grove clinic will provide a free dental exam to every student in the district, from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, Balakian said.
“Any student who has indication of oral decay will receive a notice home to parents,” Balakian said. “If the family has dental insurance, they will be able to take their report to their dentist for corrective action. If the family does not have dental insurance, then the clinic staff will arrange an appointment for the student to be seen free of charge in our dental clinic.”
Appointments are available three days a week, including evening hours to accommodate families with working parents. The clinic also provides free orthodontic care if identified by the clinic staff and offers free dental care to the family members of students if they reside within the Lemon Grove School District boundaries.