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PRESS RELEASE. From Sonrisas Dental Health and Puente, February 2025.
Need Statement: Sonrisas Dental Health is a non-profit dental center providing affordable, high-quality dental care and oral health education to low-income, vulnerable individuals in San Mateo County. Founded in 2001 on the San Mateo County coast to provide care to farmworkers and low-income residents, Sonrisas offers culturally competent, comprehensive dental care at our clinics in Half Moon Bay and San Mateo. In partnership with Puente de la Costa Sur, Sonrisas has a one day a week clinic in Pescadero/La Honda for farmworkers, providing dental care close to patient’s homes and work. This clinic has been in operation since 2008, using mobile dental equipment. The equipment is obsolete and no longer supported, putting the community-based clinic at risk of closure. The farmworkers appreciate having dental care located in their community, reducing the need to take the day off to go to the dentist.
Sonrisas, in partnership with Puente, is proposing a new dental clinic for the South Coast rural communities of Pescadero, Loma Mar, La Honda, and San Gregorio. The population of 3,882 includes 2,160 low-income residents (2020 census), with utilization data indicating fewer than 25% receive dental care. Distance to available care options (30-75 minutes), scarce paid time off and transportation issues translate to 800 low-income individuals without care.
The new clinic will expand access to dental care in this rural community by five-fold.
A Community-Focused Health Care and Economic Mobility Solution: We propose a comprehensive solution: purchasing and operating a two-chair dental RV to advance oral health equity on the South Coast. This innovative solution will ensure continued dental care for farmworkers and expand care to other low-income residents. With local access to potable water scarce, an RV will allow potable water to be sourced from another location. Finding a physical building to host the dental clinic in Pescadero has been challenging, which an RV addresses. Due to wildfires, wind, and weather events, there can be power and internet outages on the South Coast. The dental RV’s generator will allow treatment to continue uninterrupted. Puente will host the mobile clinic on their new property located on North Street in Pescadero.
This solution, which addresses the known challenges the community faces as well as the desire of people to receive care in their own community, will dramatically increase service days, hours and times dental care is available, eliminating access barriers. The current capacity of the farmworker clinic is limited to 7 clinical appointments weekly. Within two years, the new dental clinic will provide 48, increasing capacity by five-fold, while expanding access to community dental care to low-income South Coast residents beyond farmworkers.
By the same token, the clinic will also create opportunities for economic mobility in the South Coast community. Sonrisas intends to recruit and train care professionals from the community. Aspiring Dental Assistants require no prerequisite qualifications and can be trained by highly qualified professionals at Sonrisas clinics. An entry-level Dental Assistant starts at $25 an hour, but with completed training and certification, the cost of which Sonrisas will cover, they can earn up to $48 an hour.
Sonrisas has long partnered with Puente to provide on-site dental services to South Coast farmworkers. Our partnership fuses Puente’s deep community roots and Promotora/Community Health Worker services with Sonrisas’ expertise providing dental care to vulnerable populations. Sonrisas and Puente will co-brand the new clinic, deepening our partnership. Our organizations are committed to the on-going success of this clinic.
More on Puente de la Coasta Sur on Coastside Buzz
Author: Coastside Buzz
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