SUNBURY — Danielle Smith lived in agony for months, visiting the emergency room five times since February because she didn’t have $910 a local dentist required to extract seven teeth.
“They’d prescribe me antibiotics and narcotics,” the 28-year-old Shamokin resident said ruefully.
The pain continued to flare up, and when Smith learned the Susquehanna River Valley Dental Health Clinic was opening at 335 Market St., she called for an appointment.
“I was ecstatic,” she said, after finishing an early Monday morning appointment with Dr. Ken Foster. “I was the first patient.”
Foster, who received his dental degree in 2006 from Temple University School of Dentistry and worked at the Berwick Dental Health Clinic for 2 1/2 years, said working with the less fortunate is what he enjoys.
“I find it gratifying,” he said.
The staff is small at the new clinic, but it is well equipped with the help of a low-interest loan provided by the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way and $85,000 in donations.
Children and adults from Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties who are income-eligible, have qualifying managed health care for low-income families or the federal Medicare Assistance program, ACCESS, are welcome. Fees for service will be on a sliding scale, depending on a client’s ability to pay.
Working alongside Foster are certified dental assistant Angela Mattern, of McClure, and receptionist Tracy Sauers, of Mifflinburg. A dental hygienist will be joining the staff in about a month.
It’s been two years since a dental clinic serving the uninsured and the poor operated in Sunbury.
It’s absence has been keenly felt by the public, said Sauers, who has been booking appointments regularly since last week. She’s already filled Foster’s schedule for the next three weeks.
“We’ll stay busy,” Foster said, the office phone ringing incessantly in the background.
His aim is to provide care to all who are in need, and said if an individual arrives at the clinic with a swollen face, “I’m not going to ask if you’ve got insurance.”
Smith was visibly relieved after being seen by Foster for more than an hour.
Not only will she pay significantly less than $910, Foster said he’ll be able to save several of the seven teeth she was told needed to be removed.
“I won’t treat you any differently than a private dentist,” he told Smith. “We just won’t charge as much.”
Clinic hours will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays. To make an appointment, call 286-7500.
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Matthew Harris / The Daily Item
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Dental clinic offers treatment to poor, uninsured
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