VINA Community Dental Center

Mission: To provide quality, affordable dental care to Livingston County residents with limited finances and little to no access to dental care while upholding the professional standards of dentistry in a concerned and compassionate way.

The VINA Community Dental Center of Livingston County, Michigan, a non-profit outreach facility, gives people access to dental care and dental education. VINA Community Dental Center was established in 2008 to provide basic dental care to low-income, uninsured adults in Livingston County, an underserved group that traditionally has limited access to this important aspect of health care. VINA, which stands for Vision, Integrity, Need, Action, serves as a “dental home” to more than 2,000 people in our community. The concept of a “dental home” emphasizes the best practices of dentistry; patients at VINA continue to receive dental care as long as they qualify financially.

Many of the patients seen at VINA have not had dental care in 10, 20, even 30 years, have suffered repeated infections, and/or have had to deal with the incredible pain of a toothache because they cannot afford the cost of routine dental care. They share a common goal, that is: to eliminate pain and infection, to keep as many of their natural teeth as possible and to maintain their dignity.

VINA currently accepts 15-20 new patients per month. Professional volunteers provide nearly half of the 150-200 one-hour dental appointments each month. VINA currently employs part-time dentists and dental assistants to augment the volunteers. VINA patients pay $25 per appointment, which covers a portion of the clinic’s operating expenses. VINA refers patients to dental specialists in the community, who provide treatment at no additional charge to these patients.