Three Places You Can Find Affordable Dental Care With Your Choice Of Dentists

If you have recently lost your job and you are struggling to keep up with your children's health appointments because there just is not enough money, take heart. There are programs and places that can help. Here are just three places you can find affordable dental care, and most of these places allow you to choose which dentists you want your children to see.

Community Clinics

Community clinics frequently offer free or reduced-price services to the impoverished. This is accomplished through government funding and grants, which are used to support clinic operations and the salaries of the staff and doctors who work there. Some other community clinics can offer free or reduced-price services because they act as training and internship clinics for doctors and dentists. Either way, you should be able to find a community clinic near you that offers dental care for yourself and/or your children.

Free Monthly Dental Clinic

Many communities also have a free monthly dental clinic. This is a group of dentists and their staff who meet once a month to provide free services all day long for a couple of days. You will have to find out when and where this clinic is offered, since most of these free monthly clinics will only take patients by appointment. Walk-ins are not accepted and booking in advance for the next clinic is often an uncommon practice as well. In some communities, a referral from a social worker may also be required before you can attend the free clinic.

Franchised Dental Care

Franchised dental care includes dental agencies and offices that are not privately owned. Instead, a few dentists have made the decision to form partnerships with each other and with a specific dental franchise so that they can utilize the company's brand name and advertising rights. (The franchised dental offices often have at least two or more dentists working in them, while some others have several dentists all working together in the same clinic. It becomes an affordable option for them because they do not have to take on the full burden of operating expenses and they can share the office hours and work equally.) As such, most of these franchises offer reduced rates based on income, special financing or dental credit card programs, and/or payment plans that can help with any dental costs not covered by your dental insurance (which you still have to carry even if you are out of a job). 

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