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Community Health Center

Altura Centers for Health West Tulare

1500 W Tulare Dr, Tulare, CA 93274-3424

559-686-9097 Directions Website

Altura Centers for Health West Tulare is a community health center dental clinic in Tulare, CA, operated by Altura Centers for Health, which runs 3 clinics in California.

The health center is open about 49 hours a week, though dental sessions are usually a subset of that.

Clinic Details

Address1500 W Tulare Dr, Tulare, CA 93274
Phone559-686-9097
Operated byAltura Centers for Health
ProgramHealth Center Program (federally funded)

Planning Your Visit

1500 W Tulare Dr, Tulare, CA 93274

The published number is 559-686-9097. It may be a shared scheduling line. Say which site you mean and that you want dental rather than medical, or you can be booked into the wrong queue.

Things to settle on the phone first: the dental hours, and which days appointments run, whether new dental patients are being taken, and the current wait, what a first visit costs, before and after any discount, whether your insurance or Medicaid dental plan is accepted, by plan name, and what to bring for the sliding fee application.

Dental Services

This clinic has not published a list of the treatments it provides. Expect the routine treatments to be available. The question worth asking is about the expensive ones: root canals, dentures and oral surgery are handled in house at some health centers and referred out at others.

Costs and Coverage

Charges are set against household income and household size rather than a fixed fee schedule. The scale belongs to Altura Centers for Health, not to a national schedule, so the only reliable figure is the one they give you. Ask them to run your household through it before you commit to a treatment plan. Our guide to applying for the discount lists the documents to bring.

No Medicaid registration has been recorded for this clinic, which is not the same as Medicaid being refused. What California Medicaid covers for adults is a state decision and has been cut and restored in several states; for children the benefit is required nationally. The Medicaid dental page covers how to check yours.

Common Questions

What if I need a specialist they do not have?

You would normally be referred out, and a referral from a health center does not carry the discount with it — the outside specialist charges their own fee. Ask what the referral would cost before starting anything that depends on it, because that is the point where an affordable plan often stops being affordable.

Is dental priced the same as medical here?

Not always. Dental is sometimes on its own fee schedule at the same clinic, and laboratory costs for a crown or denture are often billed on top of the discounted fee. Ask specifically about dental rather than assuming the medical answer applies.

Do they do root canals, or would I be referred out?

This is the question worth asking before anything else if you already know you need one. Health centers commonly do extractions in-house and refer root canals to a private endodontist at full price, which changes the arithmetic completely. Ask before you start treatment, not after.

Do I need to be a US citizen?

No. The Health Center Program does not set citizenship or immigration status as a condition of being seen, and clinics in it are not required to ask. What they do need is something to work out your fee, which is income and household size rather than status. If this is the thing keeping you from calling, ask what they require before you decide not to go.

What if I need more work than I can afford?

Say that plainly at the start. A dentist who does not know the budget will quote the ideal plan. Told the constraint, they can usually say which item is urgent, which can wait a year, and where a cheaper option is clinically reasonable. Ask for the plan in writing so you can stage it.

How long does the discount last?

A determination usually runs for a set period, often a year, and then has to be reapplied for with current income documents. If your circumstances change in between — a job lost, a household member moving out — ask for a reassessment rather than waiting.

Other Clinics Operated by Altura Centers for Health

Altura Centers for Health operates 2 other clinics in 2 other communities in California. Asking the scheduling line which site can see you soonest is usually faster than calling each in turn; the shortest wait is not always the closest clinic. A sliding fee determination made at one of its clinics commonly carries across to the others, so income documents may not need providing twice. What is treated at one site is no guide to another, so confirm with the clinic you actually intend to visit.

Other Dental Clinics Nearby

These are straight-line distances. Two clinics a mile apart can have very different waits, so it is worth calling both.

Confirmed Payment Options

Income-Based Fees

Call Altura Centers for Health West Tulare

Confirm current dental services, appointment availability, costs and accepted insurance directly with the clinic.

559-686-9097

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Before you call

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