Dental Clinic

The VAHS Dental Clinic is in its twelfth year of operation. With the support of administrative staff and a full-time dentist, services are provided by volunteer dentists, hygienists, assistants, and students. Our Dental Clinic offers preventative and urgent services to patients with little or no dental coverage; it is the most accessible and affordable option to address basic dental needs for people in the Lower Mainland.

Service Changes Due to COVID-19

We are currently only providing Emergent and Essential (urgent) care. Our dentists will determine which urgent services can be provided to patients at this time.

Please call or email the office for pre-screening. We will contact you to provide phone support or a potential appointment.

Appointment only (no walk-ins). Please call or email the office to confirm times.

Current operating hours

We halt the daily intake once the maximum patient capacity has been reached. We follow provincial COVID-19 protocols and are performing pre-screenings over the phone.
 

Treatments offered

• Screenings (exams, cancer screening, x-rays, prescriptions)

• Hygiene (cleanings, oral hygiene instructions)

• Cosmetic treatments (teeth whitening)

• Basic treatments (fillings, sealants)

• Endodontic treatments (simple and complex root canals)

• Simple/surgical extractions

• Major restorative treatments (inlays and onlays, crowns, bridges, veneers) 

• Dentures and partial dentures, provided by a Denturist

• Night guards

Treatments that we do not offer

• Full or gas sedation

• Orthodontic treatments

• Major gum surgeries

Root canals and surgical treatments

Not all root canal and surgical treatments are the same, therefore special considerations will be given to extremely complex extractions, re-treatment of root canals, highly complex multiple root canals, and apical chronic tooth infections.

General patient intake policy

• Everybody is welcome.

• Patients with dental coverage are asked to bring their IDs. No exceptions are granted. Examples of IDs: Care card number, Indigenous status, parole (ID card and officer's contact information), interim federal health program (IFHP-UCI #), healthy kids' program, dental insurance, etc.

• For patients without any dental coverage, a donation fee will be suggested at the time of the screening.

• Any patient's needs will be evaluated based on the Dental Clinic's daily capacity and budgetary limitations.

• We reserve the right to deny any treatment at any time. We practice ZERO TOLERANCE to inappropriate behaviour towards staff/volunteers and patients. 

• We reserve the right to screen patients and prioritize treatment.

• For any patient booking an appointment, if two consecutive “NO-SHOWS” are recorded in our system, our office reserves the right to deny further appointments and to remove the patient from the waiting list.

Booking an appointment

Please call or email to book an appointment and provide the following information:

• Full legal name

• Care card and/or status card information (mandatory for patients with this coverage)

• Phone number

• Email address

• Preferred contact method

For financial information (donation/internal fee guide), please contact our front desk.

Methods of payment:

• Debit/Credit Card (Visa, Amex, MasterCard)

• Cash

• Cheques issued to Vancouver Aboriginal Health Society
  (Memo: Dental Clinic donation)

• Online donation
  Include Dental Clinic donation in the memo section. Please save the email confirmation as proof of payment.

Fee schedule for individuals under Income Assistance, Status, Refugees, Parole:

• We bill each government program without any exceptions.

• It is the patient's responsibility to bring their IDs and any coverage information. We will not accept any patient without this information.

• It is the patient's responsibility to cover, by donation, any outstanding cost for treatments that are not covered under their respective programs.

• Our office reserves the right to deny treatment beyond our office capacity and budgetary limitations.

Office forms

• Click HERE for Referral Form (PDF)
• Click HERE for Medical History Form (PDF)
• Click HERE for COVID-19 Form (PDF)