MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — The Monongalia County Health Department is one of the only health departments in the state that offers general dentistry services, and with a few additional grants, it can serve even more people.

The MCHD received a $50,000 grant from Highmark and a $50,000 grant from Delta Dental to help expand its clinic.

Funds will go towards a new sterilization lab and the addition of two operatories. 12 News spoke with MCHD Dentistry’s manager, Dr. Youseph Kassar, on the specifics of the new additions.

“For this grant, we had five dental operatories in the main clinic, now we have seven. It went towards adding two more operatories, and getting some new equipment for the sterilization lab so we can handle seeing more patients. Each operatory can see around 1,000 patients a year so, the goal is once we can get up and running fully with full staff, we can see an extra 2,000 patients or 2,000 visits in a year,” said Dr. Kassar.

In January of 2021, the West Virginia Legislature passed a law that provides $1,000 annually for dental benefits to Medicaid recipients ages 21 and older, and MCHD Dentistry experienced considerable growth and demand for dental services.

MCHD Dentistry also offers specific days to help service individuals who do not have health insurance, including a day for adults, veterans and children. You can find out more about these service days through the health department’s dentistry website and Facebook page.