Expanding In-Home Dental Care for People with Disabilities in Minnesota

Apple Tree Dental, a non-profit dental clinic, has been seeking ways to overcome barriers to oral health for underserved populations across Minnesota for more than 40 years. In 2025, they launched a pilot project in collaboration with the Altair Foundation to provide more accessible dental care for people with disabilities, funded by a $25,000 grant from the DTA Foundation. Through this project, Apple Tree Dental is now seeing patients at Dungarvin group homes, so people with disabilities can receive quality dental care without the financial and physical barriers of traveling to a brick-and-mortar clinic. Apple Tree Dental is collecting valuable data on how this in-home care reduces the often-overlooked costs associated with patients traveling to a dental clinic, including transportation and caregiver time. In the next steps of this project, Apple Tree Dental will conduct additional in-home visits to evaluate how essential these services are for people who face barriers to care. You can learn more about Apple Tree Dental in our newest impact video.