We need your help.
Health For All has provided primary and preventative care to the low-income, medically uninsured population in Brazos Valley since 1987. After assessing the overall health of medical patients in the clinic, we have realized the importance of integrating dental care into our existing service to truly improve the public health of our local community in Bryan-College Station.
Health For All seeks to expand its mission to provide high-quality comprehensive and preventative oral health care for the underserved, uninsured individuals in the Brazos Valley. Our goal is to fully operate the Health For All Dental Clinic, beginning in 2022.
We cannot achieve our vision without your support.
Did you know?
- Every year, the State of Texas has to spend more than 1 billion dollars on oral health problems that result in dental emergency visits, not to include lost productivity and absences at school and workplaces.
- With underlying chronic problems, patients have their oral health conditions exacerbated by unhealthy diets, lifestyles, etc.
- With a population of approximately 200,000, the ratios of individuals to oral health providers in Brazos County are 3560:1 (general dentist); 8550:1 (pediatric dentist); 16018:1 (dental specialist); and 2.4 Federally Qualified Health Centers per 100,000 people.
- Brazos County has been partially designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area for all three important areas: primary care physicians, oral healthcare physicians, and mental health specialists.
- Oral health access in the Greater Brazos Valley region is worse than the overall rate in the State of Texas.
- Since dental insurance is not included in the Protection and Affordable Care Act, many people can’t afford to see dentists regularly.
- Bryan-College Station area has only one charitable dental clinic; so many uninsured patients suffering from pain end up not getting help.
We have been changing the landscape of the city.
The impact that Health For All has made on the community is both substantial and strategic.
For more than 30 years, our clinic has been working tirelessly to recruit compassionate volunteer healthcare providers to provide free, high-quality doctor visits, pharmaceuticals, specialist exams, lab tests, X-rays, chronic disease management education, and counseling services. Each year we have served 1000+ unique patients and have saved our community between $2 and 6 million in unpaid emergency room expenses.
Dental and oral health are important in determining the individuals’ overall physical, emotional, and mental health. Dental hygiene has been neglected in the populations of patients in the Brazos Valley. A majority of patients with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are also presented with severe oral and periodontal diseases. We realize that dental and gum diseases are strongly connected with many serious health risks, such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, diabetes, strokes, and cancers.
Oral health is often secluded from the rest of the health care system and from conversations about overall health, even though studies show more than 90% of all systemic diseases have oral manifestations. The reality is that oral health is about much more than a smile — it is connected, in many ways, to the body, too. That’s why we have decided to make a bold move:
“Opening a free dental clinic that serves the low-income, uninsured populations in the Brazos Valley.”
WE NEED YOUR HELP.
DONATE. JOIN US.