Another option for expanding oral health services for health centers who have a dental program is the expansion or addition of off-site direct services. This can be accomplished through mobile/portable dental units, hospital-based dentistry, teledentistry, public housing based health centers, and school-based health programs. This section will outline resources and strategies to expand off-site direct dental services. For bringing a new site (Form 5B) including one that is intermittent into scope, the information is available on the HRSA website, under the resources and sites tab. Follow the Form 5B instructions to complete the form.

For the expansion or addition of off-site direct services, health centers should consider the following factors:

• Capital funding for the build-out, equipment and supplies: Financing for all aspects of dental clinic development must be identified. Depending on the selected physical space, capital funding may include building or practice purchase, remodeling of existing spaces, purchase of dental equipment and initial supply costs. The HRSA OHI funding can be used to fund minor alterations and renovations, equipment and supplies, and health information technology (HIT).

• Workforce: Staffing for the dental clinic should be identified and/or a plan for recruiting and hiring dental staff should be developed. Workforce resources are discussed in more this toolkit.

• Mobile Dental Units/Portable Dental Programs

• Teledentistry

• Hospital-Based Care

• School-Based Health Programs

• Workforce Resources 

• Integration of Oral Health and Primary Care Practice