Chestnut Health Systems hosted a grand opening Thursday for its new Chestnut Family Dental clinic located at 720 W. Chestnut St. in Bloomington.
Dental Manager Amanda Musson said this was a huge need for the community.
“In the Bloomington-Normal community, and especially in McLean County, there aren't a lot of providers for patients that don't have dental insurance or that have Medicaid or Medicare as their main source of insurance," said Musson.
Uninsured patients can also be seen at the dental facility. CEO David Sharar said Chestnut Family Dental accepts a sliding fee scale for anyone without insurance.
“Individuals who are at, near or below poverty have really horrible access to readily available dental,” said Sharar. “Many [individuals] end up on long waiting lists, they end up in the emergency room with a dental emergency and infection, which is really not an efficient way to do care. So one of Chestnut’s core values is to improve access to the medically underserved.”
Sharar said he does not know how many patients will be served at the dental clinic.
“We think the floodgates will open and you can only do so much,” said Sharar. “We're starting a little bit small and we'll hope to build up from there. But we think that the need is really pent up.”
Chestnut Family Dental is only doing simple dental procedures at the moment. Musson said the dental clinic would love to expand into some other services, such as crowns and dentures, eventually.
Dental Assistant Domonique Irons said the services provided include simple extraction, fillings, sealants, cleanings and comprehensive exams.
There are still two open dental hygienist positions, said Musson.
“And then I anticipate the need being so great here in our community that we'll probably need more dentists and more hygienists in the future.”
Sharar said hiring a health care workforce is one of the biggest issues they have to deal with.
“Health care has been hit particularly hard with the workforce shortage. A lot of people have left the field.”
The dental clinic is working with a recruiting firm and a talent manager who recruits at the local hygiene schools.
“We really have to find people who are mission-oriented,” said Sharar, “they want to come in because they care about people who have little or no access [to healthcare], and they want to make a difference.”
Irons, who assists dentists and hygienists, helps patients get comfortable with their providers when they are experiencing dental anxiety.
“Right now all we're doing is just talking with the patient, getting them comfortable with us, getting them to trust us,” said Irons. “Get them to understand that we know exactly what you're going through.”
Musson said the goal of this dental clinic is not to make a profit, they want to be sustainable.
The 4,000-square-foot modern dental clinic is the result of a $1.6 million renovation of an existing but underutilized Chestnut facility.
Operating hours will be Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To schedule an appointment call (309) 557-1400.
