Community Health Center
Peabody FAMILY HEALTH CENTER
89 Foster St, Peabody, MA 01960-8925 2.3 miles away
Community Health Center
SALEM FAMILY HEALTH CENTER
47 Congress St, Salem, MA 01970-7308
SALEM FAMILY HEALTH CENTER is a community health center dental clinic in Salem, MA, operated by North Shore Community Health, which runs 4 clinics in Massachusetts.
The health center is open about 49.5 hours a week, though dental sessions are usually a subset of that.
Clinic Details
| Address | 47 Congress St, Salem, MA 01970 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 978-744-8388 |
| Operated by | North Shore Community Health |
| Program | Health Center Program (federally funded) |
| Site schedule | Full-Time |
| Operating calendar | Year-Round |
Planning Your Visit
47 Congress St, Salem, MA 01970
The published number is 978-744-8388. 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 North Shore Community 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 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 public health 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
Is anything done for anxiety?
Ask, because the answer changes what the visit costs. Talking it through, longer appointments and numbing gel before the injection are usually free; sedation is a billed extra and does not always fall inside the discount. Our guide to dental anxiety and what it costs covers what to ask for.
Can I book online?
This clinic publishes a website, linked at the top of this page, and some health centers take dental requests through a portal or a form. Calling is still usually faster for dental, because the dental schedule is often held separately from the one an online form writes into.
Can I be seen without insurance?
Yes. Being uninsured is the ordinary case at a clinic like this, not an exception, and it is much of the reason the sliding scale exists. Bring income documentation if you have it and ask what they accept if you do not.
Can I get dentures here?
Many health centers do dentures, and the discount can make them dramatically cheaper than private practice. The catch is laboratory costs, which are often billed on top of the discounted fee and are the bulk of the price. Ask for the total including laboratory work.
Would a dental school be cheaper?
For a large amount of work, often yes — but a school screens you first, may turn your case down, and takes months rather than weeks. A health center discounts by your income and can usually see you sooner. Our guide to dental school clinics compares the two.
Can I bring someone with me?
Generally yes, and it is worth doing if you are anxious or want a second pair of ears for the costs. Ask when booking whether they can come into the room, because some clinics keep the treatment area to patients and staff.
Other Clinics Operated by North Shore Community Health
North Shore Community Health operates 3 other clinics in 2 other communities in Massachusetts. 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.
- Peabody FAMILY HEALTH CENTER — Peabody, about 2.3 miles away
- Program for All - Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Site — Beverly, about 3 miles away
- Peabody Learning Academy — Peabody, about 3.3 miles away
- LYNN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER — Lynn, about 4.6 miles away
Confirmed Payment Options
Income-Based Fees
Call SALEM FAMILY HEALTH CENTER
Confirm current dental services, appointment availability, costs and accepted insurance directly with the clinic.
Nearby Affordable Dental Clinics
Community Health Center
Program for All - Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Site
100 Cummings Ctr, Beverly, MA 01915-6115 3 miles away
Community Health Center
Peabody Learning Academy
210 Andover St, Peabody, MA 01960-1647 3.3 miles away
Community Health Center
LYNN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
269 Union St, Lynn, MA 01901-1314 4.6 miles away
Before you call
