Salt Lake City clinic hires 1st dentist

A Salt Lake City clinic that treats the homeless has hired its first staff dentist, thanks to a grant by a local company.

The Fourth Street Clinic was able to hire its first dentist through a $625,000 grant by Alsco, an international linen and uniform rental company, according to a deseretnews.com story.

The clinic will be staffed by Ronald Kehl, DDS, who for the past 12 years has led a public dental clinic at the Tri-County Health Department in Vernal, UT.

The clinic is a comprehensive healthcare home that serves 3,700 homeless men, women, and children a year.

The money will be used for operating costs of the clinic's state-of-the-art dental clinic, which is scheduled to open in January. The dental clinic, which includes three patient chairs, was funded by a $2.9 million Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act capital development grant.

The clinic will also be used to train students at the University of Utah School of Dentistry and Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine.