APA coordinates donated health & dental care for low-income, uninsured Alaskans.
12/19/2025
Like X-rays taken on other parts of your body, dental X-rays use a tiny amount of radiation to capture images of your mouth. The radiation beam passes through your soft tissues and creates images of your teeth and bones. X-rays can be traditional (film) or digital (sensors and a computer). Digital X-rays use 80% to 90% less radiation than traditional ones.
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Dental X-rays help spot hidden issues like cavities, bone loss and infections. Learn more about how often you need them.
12/12/2025
Fluoride is a natural element in all the earth’s water. Fluoride is a simple mineral that exists naturally in all water supplies: lakes, rivers, and groundwater. Some U.S. communities, such as El Paso, Texas and Jacksonville, Florida, have enough natural fluoride in their water to prevent tooth decay, but the natural level in most water supplies is too low to protect teeth. Most communities must add a small amount of fluoride to reach the recommended level. This process is called water fluoridation. here are proven benefits to our health from having the right amount of fluoride, just enough to protect our teeth, in drinking water.
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Claims that fluoride in drinking water affects IQ are based on poorly designed studies that gathered unreliable data or tested fluoride levels that far exceed those in the U.S.
12/05/2025
Dental X-rays (radiographs) are images of your teeth and jaws. Dentists use them to see parts inside that aren’t visible during a regular exam, like your jawbone, nerves, sinuses and tooth roots. A dental X-ray machine captures these images during your visit.
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Dental X-rays help spot hidden issues like cavities, bone loss and infections. Learn more about how often you need them.
12/02/2025
Today is Giving Tuesday, a global day of generosity that inspires people and organizations to give back and strengthen their communities.
At APA, that mission is at the heart of what we do every day. With the support of our volunteer providers and donors, we connect uninsured, low-income Alaskans to donated specialty medical, dental, and mental health care.
This Giving Tuesday, your support helps keep healthcare accessible for those who need it most. Join us in giving the gift of health.
Many people grind their teeth every now and then, especially during stressful times. But if you do it a lot, it can put extra strain on your teeth and jaws, leading to dental damage, headaches, jaw pain and other issues. Anyone can develop bruxism, but it’s most common during childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. It’s difficult to know exactly how many people grind their teeth because it often happens during sleep.
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Left untreated, bruxism can cause jaw pain and dental damage. Learn more about treatments that can help you stop grinding your teeth.
11/26/2025
Our office will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28. We will reopen on Monday, December 1.
11/21/2025
Avoiding the dentist can result in dental disease getting worse, and a greater need for emergency care or more complex treatment. It can also feed the underlying problem of dental anxiety; this is known as the 'vicious cycle of dental anxiety'. Most dental diseases are lifestyle-related and preventable. By avoiding going to the dentist, not only are you more likely to need more complex treatments when you do finally attend, but you are also missing out on learning how to better care for your oral health.
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Dental anxiety is common, but there are ways to help you manage it. Talk to your dentist about the strategies that are right for you.
11/14/2025
Bruxism is when you clench, grind or gnash your teeth. It usually happens subconsciously, either during waking hours or when you’re asleep. Causes include stress, anxiety, sleep disorders and certain medications. Most people who grind their teeth can ease symptoms with a custom mouth guard.
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Left untreated, bruxism can cause jaw pain and dental damage. Learn more about treatments that can help you stop grinding your teeth.
11/07/2025
Dental anxiety is common, but there are ways to help you manage it. Dental phobia is less common, and your dentist might need to work with your doctor and other health professionals to manage it. If anxiety prevents you from going to the dentist, there are things that can help you cope. Talk to your dentist about the options that are right for you. You may need to speak to a psychologist or counsellor to help you deal with your anxiety.
For more information visit the link below:
Dental anxiety is common, but there are ways to help you manage it. Talk to your dentist about the strategies that are right for you.
10/28/2025
A healthcare provider or mental health professional will diagnose suicidal ideation after asking you a series of questions to learn more about your thoughts of su***de. While there are several types of suicidal ideation assessments and questionnaires, there isn’t a specific suicidal ideation test to predict whether you’re going to harm yourself. The goal of a diagnosis is to help your provider learn more about what’s going on, including the cause of the suicidal ideation, so they can help you treat it.
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We can’t always control our thoughts, but we can reach out for help when thoughts are severe or distressing. Learn more here.
10/28/2025
Saliva helps prevent tooth decay by washing away sugar and food particles and making bacteria neutral and less harmful. When you don't have enough saliva, you may find it harder to taste, chew and swallow. You also may have a hard time digesting food.
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With this condition, also known as xerostomia, the salivary glands in the mouth don't make enough saliva to keep the mouth wet.
10/21/2025
The acids from bacteria remove minerals in your tooth's hard, outer enamel. This erosion causes tiny openings or holes in the enamel, the first stage of cavities. Once areas of enamel are worn away, the bacteria and acid can reach the next layer of your teeth, called dentin. This layer is softer than enamel and less resistant to acid, causing your teeth to be more sensitive.
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These areas in the hard surface of your teeth are tiny openings or holes due to damage from tooth decay. This can lead to pain, infection and tooth loss.
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3340 Providence Drive Ste A370 Anchorage, AK 99508
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Anchorage Project Access is a local replication of a national model that has proven to improve health outcomes and reduce emergency room charity care costs in many communities. Residing fiscally and administratively under the nonprofit structure of Christian Health Associates, the project was founded and brought to the implementation stage through the collaborative efforts of many community stakeholders, including the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, a group of local physicians, Providence Health System in Alaska Community Benefit Program, the Rasmuson Foundation, United Way of Anchorage, Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center, The Foraker Group, Christian Health Associates, Municipality of Anchorage DHHS, Alaska Primary Care Association, State of Alaska DHSS, and Alaska Health Fair.
A physician-led initiative, APA and the volunteer provider network saw its first client in December 2005. Services provided by APA staff include all “back office” functions, such as enrollment, screening, and referral of patients to physicians; making patient appointments; phoning clients prior to appointments and ensuring access to transportation; maintaining physician relationships; providing physician recognition, and tracking and analyzing patient data.
The volunteer network provides the medical services, accepting and treating APA-referred patients as any other insured patients. Anchorage Project Access is founded on the premise that all participating patients have a primary care home. In addition to income eligibility, in order to receive services from APA, the patient must have a medical need. Patients must see their primary care provider, or be assigned and have a visit with one, before being referred to sub-specialty care: primary care physicians provide acute and chronic illness care. They refer to sub-specialty colleagues for consultation and interventions.
APA added the planned pharmacy component to the client services through an agreement with Carrs/Safeway pharmacies. Project Access patients receive medication assistance cards honored by Carrs/Safeway pharmacy (patients whose primary medical home is the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center receive their medications through the ANHC pharmacy program). The program uses a limited formulary, emphasizing generic medications, and limiting expenditures for any one participant to $800 per year for medications.
