After 19 years, Children’s Dental Health Services opens its first stand-alone clinic – Post Bulletin

ROCHESTER — Children’s Dental Health Services officially opened its new Rochester location on Thursday, July 10, doubling its patient capacity in the process.

“CDHS is just saving the world one tooth at a time,” said clinical manager Amber Irby.

Founded in 2006, the nonprofit dental provider offers no- to low-cost services for children covered by Medicaid, or Medical Assistance, or who are uninsured.

Since 2016, CDHS has provided care out of Rochester’s United Way building. That space had three treatment rooms, said Sarah Hayes Anderson, CDHS executive director.

“It’s a little cramped,” Anderson said. “I can’t physically hire more people without a larger location.”

Stephanie Albert, the president of Delta Dental of Minnesota, speaks during the grand opening of the new Children’s Dental Health Services building on Thursday, July 10, 2025, in Rochester.

So, last fall,

CDHS purchased

the former Northwest Dental Group building at 1615 14 St. NW. Anderson said acquiring a former dental clinic was “a huge asset,” as some of the necessary plumbing and electrical infrastructure needed for dental treatment rooms was already in place.

“Having some of the basic rough-in items pre-done was really a wonderful thing to find,” Anderson said.

The facility has 12 dental treatment rooms, six of which have been renovated and are now in use. Each finished room has its own color scheme: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

“We may have four providers, but we still have two additional rooms, so if you have that walk-in, emergency or that phone call last-minute, we can definitely get them in,” said Irby, who’s also an advanced dental therapist and registered dental hygienist.

More space can result in more patients being seen. On a day when she’s performing restorative work — fillings, extractions, baby root canals — Irby cares for about eight children per day. On days when she just does cleanings, she could see up to 16.

The nonprofit also offers full-service dentistry services at its clinic in Austin (also based at the United Way there) and provides preventive services at dozens of schools in Southeast Minnesota. In 2024, CDHS saw more than 4,000 children.

“We have a waiting list, and we don’t want to (have one),” Anderson said. “We needed more space so that we could create that opportunity for that growth.”