A decades-long free dentist clinic is closed in St. Paul. 

Hope Dentist Clinic filed for bankruptcy after its board was unable to find a sustainable funding source. Last year the clinic served 2,500 people and solely relies on donations. 

“It feels really final, but it also feels like we’ve let the community down,” Linda Maytan, former board chair, said. 

For most of its nearly 60 years in service, it operated out of the Union Gospel Mission; for the last several years, it was independent. Not only did it provide free dental services, but also training for dentist students. 

But, with an operating budget of more than a million dollars a year, Maytan points to post pandemic pay increases for employees and a shift in the fundraising landscape in Minnesota as reasons the clinic declared bankruptcy last month.

“We either didn’t know the right people at the right time, or we didn’t have the right idea,” Maytan said about the effort to find support. “I’m not sure, but unfortunately, we couldn’t stay open without a significant funding source.”

On its website, they inform patients they can reach out to the Greater Twin Cities United Way’s 211 to learn about other low-cost dental services. 

“These services are really essential for many people in our community,” Julie Ogunleye, with The Greater Twin Cities United Way, said.  

Ogunleye said last year, 2,000 people called looking for low-cost dental care. 

While Hope Dental Clinic has closed this chapter, they’re hoping their mission and work stay alive.

“We’ve done what we can do. So hopefully someone will take the baton and take it to the next, you know, to the next level,” Maytan said.