Across the US, there are various dental clinics offered by dental school students. These clinics are often offered at a cheaper cost, including half price.

Never free

The integration of cost-effective practices from dental schools is highly beneficial to those with lower incomes. However, these are just reduced prices, not free services. The UNC Adams School of Dentistry, for example, offers appointments with faculty, residents, and supervised dental students, with high, medium, and low costs, respectively. None of these are free services, limiting the reach of the offers to those with enough financial resources. This clear limit to the help of low-cost practices clashes with its very nature to become accessible to more people. Regardless of the help these practices offer, they're not addressing the issue at hand as to how the dental issues arose in the first place.

There are currently 76 dental schools in the United States.

Of those, there is only one dental school in Virginia.

For someone looking for reduced-cost dental assistance in Virginia, Richmond is the only city in-state with a program for low-cost treatment from dental students.

In addition to finding transportation, there is a $79 consultation fee, after which the school will decide whether the individual is accepted. If accepted, the individual will be contacted to schedule a follow-up appointment, generally within two weeks of the consultation.

Although the costs are reduced, there are no financial screening programs with the VCU student practice.

The cost of VCU's preventive and restorative student dental care to someone outside of Richmond, Virginia, would include at least two round-trips, a $79 consultation fee, plus whatever flat rates the clinic offers.

This is simply much too expensive for people who are already struggling with financial issues. These programs also generally require the ability to find websites or resources online, as well as an internet connection and device to do so.

For veterans, Virginia has resources that can assist with up to complete coverage of dental care.

For non-veterans, this is where my proposal comes into play.

The purpose of this website is to explore the possibility of creating a program for pre-dental students that allows them to reach out to low-income individuals and individuals experiencing homelessness, teach them preventive dental care, and offer tools to support dental hygiene.

There is an pervasive issue with the healthcare system in focusing on the effects of a problem rather than the roots of it. Offering preventive care is not just about finding a low-cost way to help people; it's about saving those individuals thousands of dollars of work that will be needed in the future.

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