CNSU Dental Student Rotations - La Clinica de La Raza

California Northstate University College of Dental Medicine
- Community Based Practice Externship to La Clinica -

La Clinica de la Raza began as a single storefront operation in Oakland in 1971. Now it is one of the largest community-based clinics in the state of California. La Clínica has 35 sites spread across Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano Counties.

La Clínica services include: medical, dental, optical, women’s health, prenatal and postnatal care, preventive medicine, health and nutrition education, adolescent services, mental health, behavioral health services, case management, referral services, pharmacy, radiology and laboratory services.

In 2019, La Clínica provided services to 91,532 patients. Dental served 32,777 patients. La Clinica is the medical/dental home for our patients.

You can learn more about La Clinica at: https://laclinica.org/about/

LA CLINICA DE LA RAZA DENTAL DEPARTMENT
At La Clínica de la Raza (LCDLR), we believe access to dental care is a key component of primary health
services. In most cases, tooth decay and gum disease can be prevented with proper care and treatment.
Unfortunately, many low-income families do not have health coverage for dental care nor the means to
pay for it. To fill this gap in services, La Clínica provides low-cost preventive and general dental services
to the community.

MISSION AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The mission of La Clínica is to improve the quality of life of the diverse communities we serve by
providing culturally appropriate, high quality, and accessible health care for all.

As a Community Health Center Dental Department, we seek to provide quality preventive and basic
dental care to the largest number of patients that we can safely accommodate in the dental clinics.

We are guided by the following principles: Patient Education, Quality Oral Care Delivery, and Mentoring
(Students, Residents, Clinic Staff and Community Members).
• PATIENT EDUCATION
To educate our patients of the importance of oral health, and its connection to systemic health; and
to empower our patients in all techniques of oral self-care.
• QUALITY ORAL CARE DELIVERY
To provide all aspects of preventive services and the highest quality restorative procedures that are
in the scope of care provided by the Dental Department.
• MENTORING
To mentor student dentists, dental residents, dental hygienists, and dental assistants who are on
rotations or externships to our dental clinics in all aspects of clinical care delivery. To introduce the
students to public health concepts of health care delivery that is culturally and linguistically
accessible. To promote staff development and growth; as well as to inspire community members to
achieve optimal health and success in their own futures.

PHILOSOPHY OF DENTAL OPERATIONS
The philosophy of La Clínica Dental Operations is to:
• Provide culturally appropriate preventive care, patient education, and basic general dental care
to the most community members feasible, while maintaining the highest standards of quality,
evidenced-based practices, and ethics.
• Assure that all patients receive safe, efficient, timely, and appropriate care that is subject to
continuous quality improvement practices.
• Assure that all patients being treated for the same oral problems receive the same level or quality
of care.
• Maintain a high level of professional performance of providers authorized to practice in the
clinics through continuous quality improvement practices and appropriate delineation of clinical
privileges.
• Provide education and training in affiliation with established programs and assure that education standards are maintained.
• Initiate and maintain an active and continuous quality improvement program addressing all aspects of dental practice.

SCOPE OF PRACTICE
La Clínica Dental Department provides basic preventive and general dental care to patients of all ages.
The primary focus of service is on Phase I care which consists of emergency services, examination and diagnosis, patient education, hygiene and preventive services, general direct restorative services, routine and surgical exodontia, routine endodontia, removable prosthodontic appliances to replace anterior teeth (i.e., stayplate), and referral to specialty services.

*Please note this is a non-paid volunteer position*