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Community Health Center

Greater Philadelphia Health Action, Inc. Dental and Behavioral Healthcare

5501 Woodland Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19143-5607

215-925-2400 Directions Website

Greater Philadelphia Health Action, Inc. Dental and Behavioral Healthcare is a community health center dental clinic in Philadelphia, PA, operated by Greater Philadelphia Health Action, which runs 8 clinics in Pennsylvania.

The health center is open about 42 hours a week, though dental sessions are usually a subset of that.

Clinic Details

Address5501 Woodland Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19143
Phone215-925-2400
Operated byGreater Philadelphia Health Action
ProgramHealth Center Program (federally funded)
Site scheduleFull-Time
Operating calendarYear-Round

Planning Your Visit

5501 Woodland Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19143

The published number is 215-925-2400. 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, and what to bring for the sliding fee application.

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

Charges are set against household income and household size rather than a fixed fee schedule. The scale belongs to Greater Philadelphia Health Action, 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.

This clinic has a Medicaid billing registration on file, which is a good sign but not a guarantee for your particular plan. What Pennsylvania 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

Does my partner’s income count?

If you share a household, generally yes, and household size counts in your favor at the same time — the scale reads income against the number of people it supports. Say who lives with you and who depends on that income, rather than giving a single figure and letting them assume.

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.

What if I have no income at all?

Health centers deal with this routinely and have a procedure for applicants who cannot document income — usually a signed declaration. Being unable to prove income is not a reason to stay away; say so when you call so they can tell you what to bring instead.

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.

What happens at a first appointment?

Usually an examination with X-rays, sometimes a cleaning, and normally no treatment beyond that — anything found is scheduled for a later visit. Those items are billed separately, which is where unexpected first-visit charges come from. Ask for a written treatment plan with itemized costs before agreeing to anything, so you can stage the work over time if you need to.

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.

Other Clinics Operated by Greater Philadelphia Health Action

Greater Philadelphia Health Action operates 7 other clinics elsewhere in Pennsylvania. 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 FeesMedicaid

Call Greater Philadelphia Health Action, Inc. Dental and Behavioral Healthcare

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

215-925-2400

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Before you call

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