Providing critical treatment to those in need.
We Restore Lives One Tooth at a Time
The Blue Ridge Free Dental Clinic delivers high-quality emergency, restorative and preventative dental care to people who cannot otherwise afford these critically needed services. We restore lives—one tooth at a time. Since its beginning in 2005, the Clinic has performed over 68,000 procedures over 20,000 patient visits with a value exceeding $10 million dollars. A comprehensive care model is simply not available to poor residents of Western North Carolina without the Free Dental Clinic.
Serving; Jackson, Macon, Swain, and Transylvania counties of Western North Carolina.
Higher rates of poverty; based on US census data, over 17,000 low-income residents of this region would financially qualify for our Clinic's services
A larger percentage of the elderly population
Geographic isolation
Lack of adequate transportation
Lower dental insurance rates
Acute provider shortages
We treat patients from five WNC counties: Jackson, Macon, Transylvania, Swain, and Haywood.
The Need and the People we Serve
Furthermore, the health impacts of oral health disparities are numerous and serious in WNC and throughout the state. The Clinic places a high value on addressing the social impacts of a healthy smile. The ADA Health Policy Institute found that in NC: * 30% of low-income NC adults reported reduced participation in social activities due to the condition of their teeth. * 15% of NC adults reported anxiety due to the condition of their teeth. * 1 in 5 NC adults reported avoiding smiling due to the condition of their teeth. The greatest barrier to dental care in our region continues to be wealth or lack thereof. With county poverty levels ranging from 15%-21% in our region, we know that dental disease is concentrated among these lower-income populations. The Blue Ridge Free Dental Clinic works in partnership with community leaders and agencies to address the systemic barriers that prevent vulnerable populations from accessing oral health care: lack of oral health literacy, inadequate transportation, language barriers, availability of dental appointments, lack of dental insurance, low income. This work is compassionate, accessible, collaborative, and affordable.
Mission
The Blue Ridge Free Dental Clinic’s mission is to deliver high-quality emergency, restorative, and preventative dental care to people who cannot otherwise afford these critically needed services. We restore lives—one tooth at a time.
Services
Since its beginning in 2005, the Clinic has performed over 76,000 procedures and over 24,000 patient visits with a value exceeding 12 million dollars. Patients seeking care with our Clinic live in poverty (250% FDL) with the financial burden of oral health services resulting in episodic and incomplete care. We are the only free dental clinic in WNC that offers comprehensive dental care, including emergency, restorative, and preventative care, at no cost to its patients—with no direct federal, state, or local government support.
Would you show up to make someone smile?
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