Kaiser Permanente awards United Health Centers $100K grant for new dental equipment

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- United Health Centers is taking action to improve dental care in rural communities -- with help from Kaiser Permanente.

Patients at UHC's 10 dental clinics are saying goodbye to the goop, as the traditional way of taking molds or impressions is going high-tech.

"With this technology, we're able to actually transform that experience and use different applications of clinical dentistry -- whether that be crown and bridge, or whether that be something general, like just taking digital impressions so that we can study your bite and your teeth over time," explained UHC clinical director, Dr. Sonia Relingo. "We can actually, for recurring patients, we can monitor the wear patterns on their teeth."

Dental clinics from Fresno to Tulare counties each have one intraoral scanner.

Kaiser Permanente awarded UHC a $125,000 grant to help them purchase the new equipment.

According to UHC's Chief Administrative Officer, it allows the health center to provide high-quality care to its patients -- many of whom experience barriers to dental care.

"We're all serving the same community, right? We're serving the same people," Miguel Rodriguez said. "So I really appreciate the partnership that we have with Kaiser and supporting our efforts to provide the services that we do in the communities that we're serving."

In addition to dental services, UHC also focuses on health literacy to make sure every patient who sits in a dental chair learns and understands what actions they can take to improve their oral health.

United Health Centers accepts various methods of payment, including Medi-Cal, Medicare, and private insurance. Services are provided to patients without insurance on a Sliding Fee Scale, according to the patient's income and number of household members.

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