Princeton To Provide Dental Care Service For Low Income Residents

Princeton NJ

31 May, 2022

2:56 PM

Description

PRINCETON, NJ — The township is using HUD's CARES Act Funding and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to provide dental care and screening for low- and moderate-income Princeton residents. During the last meeting, Council passed a resolution related to a contract for a community block grant dental program with Dr. Lekha Tull. The contract will provide oral examinations, prophylaxis, fluoride, x-rays and films, full mouth debridement, composites, and non-surgical extractions for extremely low, very low-, and low-income households affected by COVID-19. "Previously, the municipality offered periodic pro bono dental care to fill this gap in service. Through the CDBG funding, this will be the first time that Princeton has the opportunity to implement a lasting community dental care program for residents at risk of poor oral health outcomes and establish a partnership with a local provider," Jeff Grosser, Deputy Administrator and Director of Health Princeton, wrote in a memo. The dental care program is expected to continue till 2026 based on the CDBG funding. Many low-income families told Princeton's Vulnerable Population Outreach Coordinator that they often had to choose between health care and dental care. As such, their oral health needs were never met. "We are hopeful that we'll spend down the significant portion of the funds the first year through a lot of outreach and then we'll continue on with the dental practice as long as we have it available," Grosser told Council. Currently, the Henry J Austin Dental Care Clinic in Trenton is the only other provider of a community dental care program. Councilman Leighton Newlin called the program "well-thought-out" and said it was "great for low-, very-low- and moderate-income families." Since the money was coming from HUD, Newlin asked if the program would focus on residents of Princeton Housing Authority. Grosser said the first step was to make people aware of the program and get as many to benefit from it. Councilwoman Leticia Fraga asked if Princeton's immigrant population would be eligible for the program. "Since they are not eligible to reside in HUD-subsidized housing, would that be the only population we'll be serving," she asked. "Similar to our PPE distribution plan, it is just a simple attestation which we are trying to communicate as simply as possible. Our Spanish-speaking staff is helping with that," Grosser said. Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email [email protected]