Home / Guides / Free Dental Clinics and the Sliding Scale
For Patients
Free Dental Clinics and the Sliding Scale
By Ross Seymour of Free Dentist Office, a directory of dentists who take Medi-Cal, built from the state's public provider data. It is not run by any state agency.
Some of the offices on this list are safety net clinics. They are set up to see people on Medi-Cal, people on other public coverage, and people with no coverage at all. The last group pays on a sliding scale, which means the bill is worked out from what you earn rather than from a fixed price list.
- Who they see. Anyone, including people with no insurance
- What you pay. Worked out from your income, and sometimes nothing
- What to bring. Proof of what you earn, and your Medi-Cal card if you have one
- The word to use. Ask for the sliding scale by name
What a Safety Net Clinic Is
Most dental offices are private businesses. They decide which coverage they take, and they can stop taking it whenever they want.
A safety net clinic is built differently. It exists to see the people other offices turn away, and that is written into how it is funded. Community health centers, clinics attached to hospitals and some dental school clinics all work this way.
It matters for one reason. You can walk in without coverage and still be seen.
What Sliding Scale Really Means
Sliding scale means the price slides with your income. The clinic asks what you earn and how many people live on that money, then puts you on a step of their scale. Somebody earning very little sits at the bottom step and may pay nothing. Somebody earning more pays part of the cost.
Be careful with the word free. For a lot of people the bottom step really is nothing, but it is not nothing for everybody, and a clinic that promises free care to all is promising something it cannot pay for. Ask what your step works out at before treatment starts.
You Do Not Need Medi-Cal to Be Seen
Most people get this wrong. If you were turned down for Medi-Cal, or you never applied, or your application is still sitting somewhere, a safety net clinic will still see you.
Your coverage changes what you pay. It does not change whether you get through the door.
If you do have Medi-Cal, say so when you book. Most covered treatment then costs you nothing and the sliding scale never comes into it.
What to Bring to the First Visit
Bring something that shows what you earn. Recent pay stubs, a benefits letter or a tax return all work. If you have no income at all, say that plainly, because clinics have a way of recording it.
Bring your Medi-Cal card if you have one, a photo ID if you have one, and a list of any medicines you take.
If you are missing a document, still go. Turning up with the wrong paperwork is a smaller problem than not turning up.
What to Say on the Phone
Ask three things in this order. Do you see patients without insurance. Do you charge on a sliding scale. What is the soonest you could see me.
If the answer to the first two is yes, ask what you should bring to be put on the scale. That question tells the front desk you know how this works, and it usually gets you a straighter answer about waiting times.
If the Tooth Cannot Wait
Say the word pain, and say where it is. Clinics keep room for people who are in pain and cannot wait for a routine slot, and that room is handed out over the phone.
If the side of your face is swelling, if swallowing or breathing is getting harder, or if you have a fever with the toothache, stop calling around and get to an emergency room. That is no longer a dental problem.
Before You Spend a Dime
Is a safety net clinic actually free?
For some people, yes. The sliding scale has a bottom step and somebody with very little income can land on it and pay nothing. For everybody else it lowers the bill rather than removing it. Ask what your step comes to before treatment starts.
Can I be seen with no insurance at all?
Yes. That is what these clinics are for. Your coverage decides what you pay, not whether you are seen.
How do I get a tooth out if I have no money?
Call a safety net clinic and say you are in pain and have no coverage. Taking out a tooth that cannot be saved is basic care rather than cosmetic work, so it sits inside what these clinics do and inside what Medi-Cal covers if you have it.
Do I have to live in the area?
Usually not, though some clinics serve a set county or district. Ask when you call, and if the answer is no, ask them which clinic does cover where you live. They tend to know.
Next Problem to Solve
- Your Tooth Hurts and You Have No Money. What NowWhere to go when a tooth is hurting and you cannot pay, including what an emergency room can and cannot do for a dental problem.
- What Denti-Cal Pays For. A Plain ListWhat Medi-Cal dental covers for adults and children, what it does not, and how to check before you agree to treatment.
- How to Get Medi-Cal Dental If You Have Never Had ItWho qualifies for Medi-Cal in California, how to apply, and why dental is included without asking for it.