Community Health Center

Berks Community Health Center

838 Penn St, Reading, PA 19602-1108

610-988-4838 Directions Website

Berks Community Health Center is a community health center dental clinic in Reading, PA, operated by Berks Community Health Center, which runs 2 clinics in Pennsylvania.

The health center is open about 50 hours a week, though dental sessions are usually a subset of that.

Clinic Details

Address	838 Penn St, Reading, PA 19602
Phone	610-988-4838
Operated by	Berks Community Health Center
Program	Health Center Program (federally funded)
Site schedule	Full-Time
Operating calendar	Year-Round

Planning Your Visit

838 Penn St, Reading, PA 19602

The published number is 610-988-4838. 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. Where the thresholds fall is decided by Berks Community Health Center, so what a friend paid elsewhere is not a guide. 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 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.

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

What if I do not have a phone for them to call back on?

Tell them at the point of booking and ask how they will contact you — some clinics will use an email address, a shelter or a relative’s number. Missing a call back about an appointment is a common way to lose a slot that was already booked.

Do I have to pay on the day?

Commonly yes, at least the discounted portion, and some clinics ask for it before treatment rather than after. Ask what is due at the first visit, because a discount determination and the first appointment are sometimes separate visits.

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.

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.

What if this clinic cannot take me?

Other clinics run by the same organization and the nearest alternatives are listed further down this page, each with its own waiting list. Dental school and dental hygiene teaching clinics are a separate route worth trying in the same area.

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.

Size of the Dental Service

Berks Community Health Center provided 4,058 dental visits and 2,142 dental patients in 2025, with the equivalent of 5.44 full-time dental staff. This indicates an established dental service operating regular sessions, although appointment availability still varies by clinic and time of year.

Figures describe the operating organization as a whole, across all of its clinics.

Other Clinics Operated by Berks Community Health Center

Berks Community Health Center operates one other clinic 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

Distances are as the crow flies. Wait times are set clinic by clinic, so ask each one rather than assuming.

Berks Community Health Center at Rockland — Reading, about 2.1 miles away
Union Community Care at Welsh Mountain — New Holland, about 18.9 miles away
Lebanon Dental — Lebanon, about 26.6 miles away
Lancaster Downtown (Medical, Dental & Pharmacy) — Lancaster, about 28.8 miles away

Confirmed Payment Options

Income-Based Fees

Call Berks Community Health Center

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

610-988-4838

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Community Health Center