Seattle dentistry

August 10, 2005 12:38 PM

Seattle dentistry: I haven't had a cleaning in many moons, and am looking for an affordable dentist as I have no insurance. I've been referred to UW Dentistry School, but they do not perform cleanings. Any recommendations? Thanks to all.
posted by icetaco to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

Check the local junior college - that is usually where the dental hygenists are trained. At ours they offered cleanings for ten bucks on thursdays.
posted by jmgorman at 1:19 PM on August 10, 2005

I very much like my Seattle (offices in Roosevelt and Redmond) dentist, Dr. Debbie Cederbaum. Since I have insurance, I admit I don't know how much she charges for cleanings if you don't have it, but I do know she charges exactly half as much for crowns as the fancy-schmancy Seattle dentist I tried when I first moved here.

I was also in her office once when a guy stuck his head in to ask about cheap dental work. They also referred him to the UW, warning that there's a long wait. They didn't address cheap cleanings, though.
posted by GaelFC at 1:25 PM on August 10, 2005

Seattle Central Community College has a dental hygenist training program that includes clinical training. You can contact the college to get info: [phone] or [phone]. These are phone numbers to the administrative offices. I couldn't find a number to the clinic.

Also, a basic general cleaning appointment costs about $80 at a regular dentist. I don't know if that's within your budget. Sometimes they give a discount if you pay cash.
posted by luneray at 1:26 PM on August 10, 2005

I've fallen in love with my dentist office--and this after many years of dentist-phobia and avoidance. I highly recommend Fremont Family Dentistry. I can't say what it'll run you since I'm lucky enough to have insurance, but I do know (from eavesdropping) that not everybody there is insured and they are nice and polite to every patient I've seen in the office. And they're very thorough in terms of explaining what they're doing in your mouth at any given time, which I much appreciate.
posted by donovan at 5:45 PM on August 10, 2005

45th Street Clinic still took adult patients when I was in Seattle, I'm not sure if they still do now. They did good dentistry on a sliding scale and were generally pretty nice. They had a weird system where there were a certain number of slots available at the beginning of the month and there was some sort of raffle for them. They deal with mostly kids and low-income people so there's a lot of Disney on the radio and people who haven't been to the dentist in a long time in the waiting room. I got all sorts of dental work done there and was really happy with them. I think Shoreline Community College has a dental program and is looking for people who want cleanings during board exams.

When I went to the UW Dentistry School, they had a list of all the dental clinics in town. There are very very few of them that take adult patients for just cleanings. If you decide to go full price I loved my dentist pre-clinic. Kathleen Myers, right downtown. Very very nice, friendly, and a total NPR listener if that's your bag. My landlady also went there and Kathleen was pretty flexible about accepting payment plans for expensive work.
posted by jessamyn at 6:42 PM on August 10, 2005