SAN JOSE, Calif., June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The most unusual dental office in Northern California opens in East San Jose today to see its first 25 young patients and to begin its mission of providing dental care to thousands of children in Silicon Valley who need to see a dentist.

The Children's Dental Center in Tropicana Shopping Center combines a fun kid-friendly environment -- video games, TV screens, and a movie theatre -- with the latest technology and a high efficiency business model. The 14-chair facility has capacity for as many as 15,000 appointments a year for Santa Clara County children who often have difficulty in accessing dental care.

It is a joint project of The Health Trust, which over the past five years has invested $5 million in oral health services for local youth, and the Children's Dental Group (CDG), the largest provider of pediatric dentistry in the state.

Denti-Cal, Healthy Kids and Healthy Families insurance programs will be accepted at the Children's Dental Center along with most private insurance plans. Fees for uninsured children will be on a sliding scale, and for families who have no insurance and no way of paying even modest fees, The Health Trust created a fund for oral health scholarships to cover the costs. "Tooth decay is the single most common health issue in young children, and thousands of children in Santa Clara County suffer daily from pain or swelling from tooth decay," said Frederick J. Ferrer, Chief Executive Officer of The Health Trust. "The Children's Dental Center is providing a new, critical service to the community."

Appointments for the Children's Dental Center, located at 1153 S. King Rd., San Jose, can be made by calling 408-240-0250 and more information is available on The Health Trust website, http://www.healthtrust.org.