The Lord has been doing great things in the Portland Adventist Community Services (PACS) dental clinic as staff geared up to see patients by the first of May. With the building phase finished in the middle of April, they turned their sights to installing dental equipment and hiring staff. The Lord has met them time and again along this bumpy road to the opening. They are reminded often this is the Lord’s clinic and He is working it out His way and in His timing.
Several weeks ago, there was a knock on the clinic door. A young woman had heard of the PACS dental clinic and wanted to be seen right away. She was missing a front tooth and expressed she was struggling to find work and came to the PACS food pantry to feed her family.
As they talked, staff discovered this woman had already been to a few low-income clinics, even the county clinics. None of the clinics were able to provide what she needed, a new tooth. There are very few cases where these clinics will do a crown, and there is a very long waiting list with no guarantee of even getting the crown. Most low-income and nonprofit clinics deal with emergency issues like fillings or pulling a tooth but offer no crowns, root canals or dentures.
PACS's goal for its clinic is to be able to offer these services and much more to patients in need. Fixing teeth is important. It may mean landing that next job and giving hope to the future. It has been witnessed firsthand the power of a restored smile. This clinic is about that. It’s about loving people to Jesus and giving them a hope and future beyond anything they could ever imagine (Jer. 29:11).
If you have questions, want to donate or help in anyway, please reach out by email or by calling 503-758-1892. PACS would love to have you on board.
Portland Adventist Community Services is opening a much-needed dental clinic for people in need.
The PACS dental clinic is ready for patients.
