VA opens Vancouver dental clinic

The Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center will host an open house at its new dental clinic in Vancouver today.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. today at the new dental clinic, 1601 E. Fourth Plain Blvd., Building 20.

The clinic opened in September, bringing 12 new dental operatories to Vancouver. Between the Vancouver and Portland campuses, the VA now has 38 dental operatories.

Since opening in September, the clinic has treated 849 veterans.

“We are really excited about opening the Vancouver Dental Clinic,” said Dr. Craig Ling, Portland VA medical chief for dentistry. “It allowed us to increase our capacity and relocate a portion of dental care for our Veterans.”

The new dental clinic also provides care for veterans away from the congested main facility on Marquam Hill in Portland.

The Portland VA Medical Center serves more than 70,000 veterans in Oregon and Southwest Washington. In addition to the main campus located on Marquam Hill, the Portland VA Medical Center operates the Vancouver campus and clinics located in East Portland, Hillsboro, Salem, Warrenton, Bend and The Dalles, and Newport.