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The Douglas County Dental Clinic is a non-profit safety-net dental clinic serving the residents of Douglas County, Kansas.  Our mission is to make quality dental care available to underserved populations including the uninsured, low income and Kansas Medicaid beneficiaries. This mission is accomplished by providing reduced fee dental care and oral health education with focus given to the special needs of our patient community.

Our History

The Douglas County Dental Clinic began as a group of concerned community members who formed the Douglas County Dental Coalition in 1998.  They began meeting to discuss how the great needs in our community could be met.   They soon incorporated and began searching for funding to support the start up of the clinic.

Initial funding was provided by the Ethel and Raymond Rice Foundation and the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund.  These funds provided the clinic with equipment and supplies and allowed for part-time staff.  Still, though, the clinic had no physical location.  Late in 2001, the clinic acquired dental equipment from a local dentist who was retiring and had agreed to sell his equipment to DCDC at less than half of its appraised value. Additionally, the owner of the building where the dental practice was located was willing to rent the same space to DCDC.

In October of 2001, the Douglas County Dental Clinic went to work seeing its first patients!   Part time dentists and hygienists staffed the clinic between October of 2001 and June of 2002.  Over the years, the dental clinic has grown and moved its operations to several other Lawrence locations including Bob Billings Parkway and Maine Street, before landing in its current location at 2210 Yale Rd. The Douglas County Dental Clinic now provides more than 8,000 visits annually to more than 4,200 patients!