PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Students at William D. Kelley Elementary School in Brewerytown can now see a dentist without leaving their building.
Dignitaries gathered at the school at 28th and Oxford Streets Wednesday to cut the ribbon on the new Temple University Dental Clinic.
This clinic was five years in the making, with the process interrupted by COVID-19. The School District provided the space. Dr. Amid Ismail, dean of Temple’s Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, says Temple University kicked in more than $500,000 for renovations, equipment, and staffing.
“The advantage for us is that we need our students to see underserved communities,” he said. “Not just [those] in the clinics who come to us, but we need them to see them in their homes, in their schools.”
The brightly-colored dental facility has four dental operatories, including one for students with autism. The clinic is open not only to Kelley students but to any district student in the area.
“We hope this dental clinic becomes another vital student and family resource that promotes not only good dental health but good general health and well-being,” said Philadelphia Board of Education president Reginald Streater.
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Kelley principal Dr. Crystal Edwards says having full-time dentists at a neighborhood school makes the process simpler for families.
“When you say, ‘Come to the school, we have this,’ the relief on parents’ faces — the anxiety is gone,” Edwards told KYW Newsradio. “It just means so much for families who sometimes get intimidated because they have to go out of where they live to get something done.”
Edwards added parents can book appointments through Temple’s Dental School. The clinic accepts insurance but those without coverage will still be treated. Ismail says Temple dentists will keep student patients for only one class period, so they won’t miss too much school time.
“We have agreement among us, the dental providers, that we will not keep a child longer than one period,” he said. “50 minutes, in and out.”
The university is already looking to establish a second clinic at Philadelphia’s Widener Memorial School.