Healthy Smiles dental clinic opens in Martinsburg
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Sandy Sponaugle The new Healthy Smiles Oral Health Center opens in Eastern Panhandle. |
December 1, 2009 ·
More affordable dental care is now available in the Eastern Panhandle.
Shenandoah Community Health has provided medical care
for more than 30 years is now operating the new Healthy Smiles Oral Health Care
Center.
The Center opens this month
and will offer low cost care for those who normally can’t afford to go to the
dentist.
During an open house on
Tuesday Betty Russell gave tours of the new Healthy Smiles Oral Health Center in Martinsburg. Russell
spearheaded the effort to open the clinic.
“I have never been so
excited about anything,” Russell said. “Everybody
needs a place that they feel like that they can go and get the care they need
at an affordable rate that they can afford to pay whatever that might be.”
Healthy Smiles will accept
insurance, Medicaid, CHIP and cash. Services will be offered with a sliding scale fee for those who can’t
afford to pay full price.
Dr. Leonisha Thomas will see
most of the patients who come to Healthy Smiles. Thomas graduated from dental school three
years ago.
“I’ve always known that there’s a very strong
need for the underserved as far as dental care and I just wanted to make my
services available to the community and I’m really big on that,” Thomas
said.
Thomas said the clinic will
offer a good dose of education along with the screenings, cleanings and
fillings.
“Education is key and a lot
of the families don’t know that they need to bring their child to the dentist
as early as when the first tooth comes into the mouth,” Thomas said.
Thomas said teaching parents
the importance of bringing children to the dentist early helps make the visits
easier for the kids and provides the care needed to prevent future
problems.
Money for the Healthy Smiles Oral Health Center came from private donations and grants as well as federal stimulus
money.
Now that the clinic is open
organizers have begun a capitol campaign to raise $300,000 over the next three
years.
That money will be used to
expand the facility, hire another dentist and set up an endowment fund that
will cover care for patients who can’t afford it.