Open Door Launches Dental Treatment On Wheels

Open Door Family Medical Centers, which is based in Ossining and has a Mount Kisco office, has announced that it is offering mobile dental service to the uninsured and underinsured.

The organization says that it will provide the service with a traveling van that contains two exam rooms and will be staffed with both a dentist and dental hygienist. It hopes to have the service for more than 1,300 patients in Mount Kisco.

Anita Wilenkin, chief operating officer for the organization, said that it is current operating two days a week, on Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, she said that there are plans to expand it to five days a week.

"It's really a complete dental office on wheels," she said. 

The mobile unit will treat both children and adults for things ranging from cleanings to filings, according to Wilenkin. Prior to having the unit, the organization could only do limited dental work on children at its regular center in Mount Kisco.

The mobile dental unit was funded through a grant obtained from the New York State Department of Health, Wilenkin said. 

Open Door will celebrate by having an event at the Boys & Girls  Club of Northern Westchester on May 5, which will take place from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. It will include a "floss cutting ceremony" at 4:30 p.m. to officially welcome the unit, the group announced in a press statement.

The mobile dental unit will be parked at the Boys & Girls Club, as well as Neighbor's Link on Columbus Avenue, the group announced, "as well as area churches, day care centers, and schools in order to serve a broader community."