Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Matthew Eaton, DDS, says the Family HealthCare Center’s dental clinic in Moorhead’s Family Service Center will expand to more than twice its size, with construction expected to begin this summer. (Photo/Jill O’Keefe.)

Fargo-Moorhead’s Family HealthCare is planning to more than double the size of its dental clinic in Moorhead.

Located on the main floor of the Family Service Center at 715 11th St. N., the clinic is part of Family HealthCare’s family-oriented primary care program. The Moorhead facility is a satellite of FHC’s main dental clinic at 301 NP Ave. in downtown Fargo. Established in almost 30 years ago, the Minnesota operation now supports seven dental chairs in a tightly packed 2,000 square feet.

The nonprofit organization has issued bids for renovations on additional space that will more than double its quarters. When completed this fall, dental director Matthew Eaton, DDS, says it will accommodate patients at 14 dental stations with state-of-the-art equipment, doubling its capacity. “We will be able to create a better, more inviting space for our patients to receive care,” he promises. “We’ll also be adding dentists and hygienists, and we’re planning to set up an externship for dental students.” He says the program anticipates handling some 4,000 more “patient encounters” next year.

FHC’s two clinics now have seven dentists and six hygienists, with the equivalent of two and one-half of the former and two of the latter stationed in Moorhead. They book a total of about 20,000 visits each year. Among their services: comprehensive dental exams and cleanings, fluoride treatments and sealants, X-rays, cavity fillings and extractions, emergency walk-in dental care, denture care, bridges and restorative care. “We try to provide comprehensive care at each of our clinics,” Eaton says, “though patients may have to travel to the other site for specific procedures.”

The Moorhead dental clinic, like its Fargo counterpart, accepts appointments for whoever needs its services, though the majority of patients have limited incomes. Most are residents of Clay County. “But we do have many who travel across the state to see us,” the dentist adds. While a substantial number qualify for MA, he adds, “Our mission is to provide high quality health care for every person, regardless of whether they have commercial insurance, are self-paying, or qualify for MA or our own sliding fee access plan based on income.”

Eaton observes that growth in FHC’s dental patient numbers leans more toward Minnesota. “There are more barriers to care in Minnesota,” he explains. While the 2021 Legislature increased the payment base rates for Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare by 98%, the FHC clinic is one of only two Clay County practices that currently accept those payments. (The other is Apple Tree Dental in Hawley.)

For Eaton, joining Family HealthCare in 2015 was a homecoming. A Fargo native and Shanley High School grad, he graduated from the University of Minnesota Dental School in 2010. He spent five years with the Marshfield, Wisconsin, Family Health Clinics before becoming joining FHC as its dental director.

For more information on the Moorhead dental clinic, go to https://famhealthcare.org/our-services/dental-services. For appointments, call 701-271-3344.