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Community Health Center

MAHEC at Buncombe County Early College

340 Victoria Rd, Asheville, NC 28801-4897

828-232-4123 Directions

MAHEC at Buncombe County Early College is a community health center dental clinic in Asheville, NC, operated by Mountain Area Health Education Center, which runs 4 clinics in North Carolina.

The health center is open about 35 hours a week, so dental capacity is limited and the wait can be long.

Access to This Clinic

This clinic is located inside a school. School-based health center sites typically serve enrolled students, and in some cases their families or the surrounding community. Access is determined jointly by the school and the health center. Contact the clinic before visiting to confirm whether patients who are not students can be seen.

This clinic operates seasonally. Seasonal sites often serve agricultural communities and close outside their operating season. Confirm that the clinic is currently open before visiting.

Clinic Details

Address340 Victoria Rd, Asheville, NC 28801
Phone828-232-4123
Operated byMountain Area Health Education Center
ProgramHealth Center Program look-alike
SettingSchool

A look-alike meets every requirement of the federal Health Center Program — including the income-based sliding fee discount and seeing patients regardless of ability to pay — but does not receive the federal grant that funds the others. For you as a patient the discount works the same way; what differs is the funding behind it.

Dental Services

Service and coverage information recorded for this clinic includes:

  • Medicaid

Treatments offered and insurance accepted change over time, and services not listed here may still be available. Contact the clinic to confirm what is currently offered.

Costs and Coverage

What you pay here is worked out from your household income and family size, not read off a price list. Mountain Area Health Education Center sets its own income bands, so a quote from another clinic tells you nothing about this one. Ask for your band in writing before agreeing to a course of treatment. Our guide to applying for the discount lists the documents to bring.

This clinic has a Medicaid billing registration on file, which is a good sign but not a guarantee for your particular plan. Adult dental coverage under North Carolina Medicaid is decided at state level and has changed more than once in most states; children’s dental coverage is required everywhere. The Medicaid dental page covers how to check yours.

Planning Your Visit

340 Victoria Rd, Asheville, NC 28801

The published number is 828-232-4123. Where an organization runs several sites this often lands at a central desk, so name the clinic and say the appointment is dental.

The call is worth making for: 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, and what to bring for the sliding fee application.

Common Questions

Can I just walk in?

Rarely for dental, even where the medical side takes walk-ins. Dental chairs are booked by appointment because each one occupies a room and a clinician for a set time. Call first; a walk-in dental visit is usually reserved for emergencies.

What if I cannot get there?

Ask whether the clinic has transport assistance or can tell you what local programs exist — many health centers help with this and it is rarely advertised. Your county health department is the other place that knows.

Why was I billed for three things at one visit?

Because an examination, X-rays and a cleaning are separate items, priced separately, even when they happen in the same half hour. This is the most common unpleasant surprise at a first visit. Ask for the price of each before you book, and ask whether the discount applies to all three or only to some.

Is this the only option in Asheville?

No — Asheville has other clinics of this kind, and they are listed on the page for the city. Waiting lists are held separately at each one, so the shortest wait is not reliably at the nearest address.

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.

Do they see children?

Health centers are generally set up for families and children’s dental coverage is a required Medicaid benefit in every state, so this is usually yes. Minimum ages and whether children are seen on the same days as adults do vary, so ask when booking.

Other Clinics Operated by Mountain Area Health Education Center

Mountain Area Health Education Center operates 3 other clinics in 2 other communities in North Carolina. A central scheduling line can often say which of them has the shortest wait, and it is not always the nearest one. The income assessment usually transfers between sites in the same organization, which saves repeating the paperwork. 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

Measured straight-line rather than by road. Availability varies enough between them that a second call is usually worth making.

Confirmed Payment Options

Income-Based FeesMedicaid

Call MAHEC at Buncombe County Early College

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

828-232-4123

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