Community Health Center
Pine Street Inn at the Shattuck
170 Morton St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-3735 0.9 miles away
Community Health Center
Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center
632 Blue Hill Ave, Dorchester, MA 02121-3293
Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center is a community health center dental clinic in Dorchester, MA, operated by Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center.
The health center is open about 63.5 hours a week, though dental sessions are usually a subset of that.
Clinic Details
| Address | 632 Blue Hill Ave, Dorchester, MA 02121 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 617-825-3400 |
| Operated by | Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center |
| Program | Health Center Program (federally funded) |
Planning Your Visit
632 Blue Hill Ave, Dorchester, MA 02121
The published number is 617-825-3400. 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 bands are set by Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center rather than nationally, which is why prices differ between two clinics on the same scale. 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 Massachusetts 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.
Dental Providers at This Clinic
Alongside general dentistry, providers registered in dental hygiene, for cleanings and preventive care practice at this address. That is not the same as the clinic taking new patients for those treatments, or the discount covering them, so name the treatment when you call.
Common Questions
Can I pay in installments?
Many health centers will arrange this, particularly for dentures or a course of treatment, but it is rarely advertised and you generally have to ask. Agree the amount and the schedule before treatment starts, and ask what happens if you miss one, because that varies more than the plans themselves do.
Is treatment free?
Usually not, though it can come close. Clinics like this one discount by household income and are required to see patients regardless of ability to pay, but a charge normally applies and the lowest band is a nominal fee rather than nothing. Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center sets its own scale.
Will I see a dentist or a hygienist?
Depends on what you booked. A cleaning is normally a hygienist; an examination, filling or extraction is a dentist. Some clinics run hygiene appointments on different days from dentist appointments, which is worth knowing before you take time off.
What if I have no fixed address?
Say so when you call rather than leaving the field blank. Health centers see people without stable housing routinely, some hold a specific program for it, and a shelter or day center address is normally accepted for the paperwork. Not having an address is not a disqualification.
How large is the dental program?
No dental activity figures have been published for this organization in a form we can tie to it, so the size of the program here is unknown. Asking how many days a week a dentist is in gets you further than asking how big the clinic is.
How soon could I be seen?
Dental waits at health centers are frequently longer than medical waits, and can run weeks for a routine appointment. Ask for the next available and also whether they hold same-day slots for pain, which is a different queue.
Other Clinics Operated by Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center
Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center has no other locations, so there is nowhere else within the same organization to ask. Work down the nearby clinics below if this one is full.
Other Dental Clinics Nearby
Straight-line distances. The nearest clinic is not reliably the one that can see you soonest, so try a couple.
- Pine Street Inn at the Shattuck — Jamaica Plain, less than a mile away
- Upham's Corner Helath Center — Dorchester, about 1.1 miles away
- Codman Square Health Center — Dorchester Center, about 1.1 miles away
- Upham's Corner Health Center - Business & Human Resources Office — Dorchester, about 1.2 miles away
Confirmed Payment Options
Income-Based Fees
Call Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center
Confirm current dental services, appointment availability, costs and accepted insurance directly with the clinic.
Nearby Affordable Dental Clinics
Community Health Center
Upham's Corner Helath Center
415 Columbia Rd, Dorchester, MA 02125-2424 1.1 miles away
Community Health Center
Codman Square Health Center
637 Washington St, Dorchester Center, MA 02124-3510 1.1 miles away
Community Health Center
Upham's Corner Health Center - Business & Human Resources Office
500 Columbia Rd, Dorchester, MA 02125-2389 1.2 miles away
Before you call
