This year, Kaiser Permanente Dental is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The dental program began in the late 1960s as a federally funded research demonstration, as researchers believed that embedding dental care in a neighborhood medical clinic serving low-income patients would yield better outcomes. The project ran from 1968 to 1974 and set the foundation for Kaiser Permanente Dental. In 1974, KP Dental opened its first office in Portland.
Today, KP Dental serves more than 287,000 members at 21 convenient locations from Longview, Washington, to Eugene, Oregon, and has been independently recognized for more than 30 years as a leader in providing high-quality, patient-centered, comprehensive care.1 We have a diverse, highly skilled group of more than 160 general and specialty dentists, as well as a broad PPO and HMO network with more than 9,300 locations in Oregon and Washington.
Kaiser Permanente combines dental care, medical care, pharmacy, and insurance services in one easy-to-use package to support our members’ total health.
KP Dental has worked toward continuing to grow access and improve service for its members over the last 50 years.
At Kaiser Permanente, our dental and medical teams collaborate to help prevent illness and manage chronic conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease, with personalized prevention and treatment plans. We use an evidence-based approach to proactively identify and take care of any dental issues before they become serious.
Whether it's our highly integrated care team approach resulting in lifesaving early cancer detection and treatment or a routine mammogram - and early detection - that helped a member overcome breast cancer , our dentists and doctors are there to ensure each patient receives the quality care they deserve.
Member Story
In June 2023, a routine dental cleaning for one Kaiser Permanente member became a springboard for a healthier lifestyle. At the appointment, the patient learned she was due for a mammogram, A1C bloodwork, and a blood pressure check — all screenings, it turns out, that she could address during the very same visit.
With the dental nurse’s help, a mammogram got scheduled and her blood pressure was taken. The numbers, which were high, were then sent directly to her primary care doctor for follow-up. Her blood was drawn for lab tests that day that revealed elevated A1C numbers. (A risk factor for diabetes.)
Happily, when the patient returned for a blood pressure check the next month, her numbers had improved. Along with starting a keto diet, she had begun meditation exercises to help control her blood pressure. She said the changes were inspired after experiencing dental care at Kaiser Permanente — care that went well beyond routine teeth cleaning.
KP Dental continues to take pride in its’ customer service and ability to serve its members with high-quality care. Currently at a 4.8-star rating, they led the region in 2023 in Google review rating percentage.
January 5th, 2024
— Kaiser Permanente Patient Google Review
Kaiser Permanente Dental stands for total health with prevention at its core. Coordination, convenience, and quality care are the main pillars of this dental program. We look forward to the next 50 years and the continuous work in medical-dental integration to give our patients the best care possible.
Contact your KP representative for an Experience KP Dental tour now
1Continuously accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) since 1990. Kaiser Permanente Dental is the only AAAHC-accredited dental home in the Northwest, and the third in the nation to achieve dental home accreditation.
