To help meet the growing demand for dental services, CHEMED (Center for Health Education, Medicine, and Dentistry), a federally qualified health care center, 1771 Madison Avenue, Lakewood, N.J., has just expanded its dental facility, making it the largest in Ocean County, with 15 exam rooms.
Joseph Tricarico, the dental director of CHEMED, said, “Because many people do not have dental insurance, dental services for the uninsured and underinsured are in huge demand. With the opening of this new and expanded dental facility, we can now accommodate many more people in need of our services.”
The medical and dental services at CHEMED, including restorative and preventive dentistry, are available to all patients of all ages whether they are insured or uninsured. Underinsured and uninsured patients are seen on a sliding fee-scale, based on their ability to pay. The new dental facility is entirely digital and includes such amenities as a choice of videos for children to watch.
This dental facility was established through the efforts of state, county, and local officials. On its opening day, N.J. State Senator Robert W. Singer, the senior member of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, said:
For a long time we have recognized the dire need for dental care for children and the underserved population in Ocean County. It was the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders, including Gerry Little and Joseph Vicari who generously funded this project along with the Ocean County Board of Health. It is a unique partnership. Nowhere in the state of New Jersey do you see FQHC clinics, federal dollars, county dollars from the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders, and Ocean County Board of Health coming together for funding. It has not happened anywhere else in New Jersey.
You really have to understand what this means to somebody without dental care. Think about how a young child is afraid to go to school because he or she can’t smile, or how senior citizens can’t eat a meal because they don’t have the capacity to do so.
Freeholder Gerry Little, liaison to the Board of Health, said:
Senator Singer came to the Board of Health to ask us for help. He was very passionate about advocating for the dental health care needs of children, and he lamented the lack of dental health care in the community and throughout our county. The result is this dental facility at CHEMED. I’ll tell you the State Department of Health is looking at this site and the cooperation here as a model for the entire state.
Freeholder Joseph Vicari said:
What occurred to me 40 years ago as an educator is when a student would come into my classroom, had pain, couldn’t learn, and would go home because there was nothing we could do. Every time I talked to a student who was in pain, I hoped someday I would be able to end that pain and do something not only for one student but for all the students. CHEMED is that answer.
Dr. Tricarico said:
Dentistry has always been the orphan child of the healing arts. The Mayo Clinic did a study years ago that showed that many people who don’t have their own teeth, live, on the average of five to ten years or less. We think about tightening belts and cutting deficits but we also have to invest.
Nothing is more heart wrenching than to see a child who is in such pain that he or she can’t learn. So I commend the Freeholders, the Board of Health, Senator Singer, and everyone involved in this dental facility because the investment you made here is going to pay dividends down the road over and over again for Ocean County.
Lakewood Mayor Menashe Miller said, “I was honored to serve in Iraq recently. As the troops will tell you, ‘there’s no WalMart in the desert.’ Toiletries are hard to come by. I was pleased to hand out dental toiletries sent to Iraq by the CHEMED community health center.”
Along with the opening of the dental wing, CHEMED has hired several dentists. Dr. Tricarico is hoping to hire another dentist who specializes in pediatric dentistry. The dentists now on staff are Dr. Ellen Goldberg, Dr. Evan Abraham, Dr. Michael Todres, Dr. Joseph Tricarico, Dr. Brian Gelfand, Dr. Jared Maimon, and Dr. Marilyn Gittleman.
The hours of operation for dental services are Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; Friday, from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.; and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Call 732-364-6666 for appointments.
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