Kalamazoo County boosts dental clinic's budget by $500000

Posted by Chris Killian | Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette

KALAMAZOO -- A Kalamazoo County program aimed at keeping the mouths of schoolchildren and low-income residents healthy may expand its services.

A one-time increase of $500,000 to the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Dental Clinic budget has been proposed to county commissioners by Finance Director Bill Dundon. The money would be part of the 2009 budget.


A group of county health officials will be assembled to discuss how best to spend the $500,000. Commissioners will begin budget deliberations in the fall.

Commissioner Brian Johnson said there is support on the board for the clinic and expects the $500,000 to hold firm in the budget process.

"(The clinic) is one of the most important things we can do from a public health standpoint," he said.

Every month, 325 scheduled patients and 80 walk-ins receive services at the clinic, ranging from tooth cleaning and extractions to dental examinations and fluoride treatments.

A mobile clinic provides services to 1,000 schoolchildren in the county each school year.

But about 30 people seeking services are turned away each day because of lack of staff and space, said Linda Buzas, Kalamazoo County health and community services director.

On the first Monday of every month, clinic officials begin taking appointments for the month. Within three hours, the month's appointments are booked, she said.

The clinic operates with an annual budget of $900,000, employing three dentists, three hygienists and six other support staff. It has six dental chairs.

"There is always going to be more need out there than we can accommodate," Buzas said.

Health-care providers have long stressed that maintaining dental health is important to overall health.

To be eligible for clinic services, a person must be a county resident and on Medicaid or not have dental insurance.

"We're at a point where we need to sit down and figure out what we should do with the dental clinic because it is such a highly demanded service," Buzas said. "Right now, we cannot add anymore capacity, and that is leading to some vastly unmet needs."