Harvard University School of Dental Medicine

Harvard University School of Dental Medicine is an accredited dental school in Boston, MA. Dentists are trained by treating patients, which is why a dental school is often the cheapest place in a city to have a large amount of work done.

Fees at a teaching clinic are set by the school and are usually well below private practice rates, though the care is reduced-cost rather than free. In exchange, appointments are longer and treatment can take more visits than it would elsewhere. Massachusetts has 3 accredited dental schools in total, listed on the Massachusetts page.

What a Teaching Clinic Is Like

Dental schools usually run several clinics rather than one. Students handle routine general dentistry at the lowest fees; residents training in a specialty handle root canals, gum treatment, dentures, and oral surgery for more; faculty practices charge close to private rates.

The trade is time for money. Screening comes first and does not guarantee acceptance; appointments are two to three hours because each stage is checked; and treatment spanning several months has to work around the school calendar.

Our guide to dental schools and teaching clinics covers the screening process, how the discount works on laboratory costs, and what to ask before the first appointment in more detail.

Before You Call

The patient clinic is often a separate operation from the school itself, with its own number and sometimes its own building. Worth a call before you set out.

• Is the clinic open to the public right now, and taking new patients?
• Is a screening appointment required first, what does it cost, and how soon can you get one?
• Which clinic would handle the treatment you need — the student clinic, a specialty clinic, or the faculty practice — and does it have its own waiting list?
• What are the fees for that treatment, and do they include laboratory work for crowns or dentures?
• Is your insurance or Medicaid plan accepted, and is payment due at each visit?
• Which number reaches the patient clinic rather than the main switchboard?
• Are evening or Saturday appointments available, or is it weekdays only?
• If the school cannot treat part of your case, where does it refer that work?
• Are X-rays from your own dentist accepted, and how recent do they have to be?

Common Questions

Accreditation

Status: Approval without Reporting Requirements, next reviewed in 2032. Accreditation covers the teaching — curriculum, facilities and faculty — not whether a public clinic is open, what it charges, or how long the wait is.

Other Accredited Dental Schools in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has 3 accredited dental schools altogether. If this one is full or the wait is too long, the others are separate institutions with separate lists:

• Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine — Boston, the same city
• Tufts University School of Dental Medicine — Boston, the same city

Other Low-Cost Options in Massachusetts

• Community health center dental clinics in Massachusetts — fees scale to what you earn, and being uninsured is the ordinary case rather than an obstacle. Generally quicker to get into than a school.
• Dental hygiene programs in Massachusetts — the cheapest cleanings available anywhere, with the hard limit that a hygienist cannot treat decay.
• Free and charitable dental care in Massachusetts — volunteer and donated-care programs, normally with eligibility rules and limited capacity.
• How dental school clinics work — a general guide to screening, fees, and what to expect across the country.