While federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) offer dental care to a small percentage of low-income Californians and could potentially take on more patients, they also face numerous obstacles to establishing or expanding dental services.

In an effort to better understand these obstacles, the California HealthCare Foundation commissioned a field survey of FQHCs. Researchers interviewed dental directors, executive directors, clinicians, and other staff at six community health centers in California with dental practices that treat a limited number of patients.

The findings, reported in this issue brief, show that while FQHCs are willing to start or expand dental care for low-income Californians, they face a common set of impediments ranging from insufficient capital resources to a patient-payer mix that does not allow for adequate reimbursement. Interviews with staff at clinics and at organizations that provide support to community health centers also produced recommendations for overcoming such barriers.

The complete issue brief is available under Document Downloads.