December 9

A mobile dentist clinic named Casino Direct Health Services, in Las Vegas, already offers on-site general dentistry services to Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming Corp. employees. The clinic is also trying to extend it's services to other casinos and even other types of businesses.

The dental clinic has a total of three RV's it has customized with dental equipment. These RV's each contain three state-of-the-art patient areas and all the necessary equipment like X-ray machines and computers.

Each mobile dental unit has a licensed dentist on board along with the needed support staff. Once inside you might not even know you are in a mobile unit. The dental units are usually on property once a week, making it very convenient for both the patients and the employers.

In the year 2000, Chris Davenport began the drive-up dental company along with a group of existing dentists from the area. Originally, the company provided mobile dentistry to Palace Station employees. Davenport, who is a dental hygienist, owns the management company that operates Casino Direct Health Services, but not the actual dental practice since he is not a dentist.

The services were expanded to all Station casinos in the past few years, and last month Boyd Gaming agreed to a tentative deal for Stardust employees, Davenport said.

Rob Stillwell, spokesman for Boyd Gaming Corp., said the company agreed to a four-month deal with Casino Direct and so far the employees love the benefit.

Boyd Gaming wanted to bring health services to its employees to encourage them to stay healthy, Stillwell said, adding that the dental benefit could be expanded to Boyd's 10 other properties since the service has been well received and the costs are comparable to other dentists.

Employers or their insurance companies pay the dental bill and the electricity used one day a week, while Davenport's company pays for the electrical power hook-up and the cable bill, Davenport said.

Patients in need schedule their appointments as they would with any other dentist, but they have the added convenience of being able to stroll across their employer's parking lot instead of perhaps having to drive across town. They can do it before work, after work or even during their lunch hour.

The only real disadvantage to the employer has in providing a mobile dentist clinic on site is that people are way more likely to use it and they're employers will be paying for it.