By Robert Williams

Editor

Dental services coordinator for Partnership 4 Health Jane Neubauer announced the rollout of the Apple Tree Dental clinic in Detroit Lakes at the Becker County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, May 6. 

A lease agreement is in place to take over the public works building. Modifications are planned with an opening day of July 1.

“We are really excited about that,” Neubauer said. “There have been literally hundreds of people from Detroit Lakes and the Becker County area that have been served at Apple Tree already.”

Meetings have been held with 18 area schools’ wellness committees that have dental as part of their wellness work programs.

The Detroit Lakes clinic will be the 10th Apple Tree dental center in Minnesota joining Hawley, Fergus Falls, Little Falls, Fairmont, Madelia,  Minneapolis, Mounds View, Rochester and St. Paul.

“We’re really excited to continue to grow that clinic,” Neubauer said.

Commissioner Phil Hansen brought up the original plan of Northern Dental Access Center opening a dental clinic in Frazee.

“As all projects do, it kind of ebbed and flowed and changed,” said Neubauer. “Northern Dental Access decided to secure two additional buildings a little closer to their Bemidji office and so they opened new facilities in Bagley and Park Rapids and withdrew their application to build in Frazee. As a result of that, Apple Tree Dental stepped up and decided they would open the facility in Detroit Lakes.”

Apple Tree had been operating part-time out of Essentia.