A St. Paul dental clinic that has served needy patients for more than 50 years is expecting to expand its services after moving into new quarters earlier this month.

Hope Dental Clinic also began operating as a nonprofit organization last year after being associated with the Union Gospel Mission since its inception in 1965.

“The new clinic is such a different atmosphere than where we were before,” said clinic executive director Jessica Flotterud. With more rooms, windows, up-to-date equipment and better visibility to the community, Flotterud hopes to bring in more patients as well as volunteers.

Hope Dental, which relies on grants, donations and volunteers to operate, had been housed in the basement of Union Gospel Mission men’s campus building for 52 years. On Jan. 2, the clinic opened its new East Side offices at 800 E. Minnehaha Ave. From 3 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, it will hold an informal open house there.

Hope Dental, which is Minnesota’s largest free dental clinic, served a record 2,347 patients last year, performing 11,815 procedures. The clinic expects to serve more than 3,000 patients this year.

Union Gospel Mission provided $1.4 million to help with the transition, according to volunteer dentist and clinic board chairman John Mittelsteadt. With more room to expand, Mittelsteadt highlighted the clinic’s goal to be a teaching center in addition to providing care.

The clinic relies on 11 paid staff members and 400 to 500 volunteers each year, including dentists, dental assistants and hygienists, interpreters, dental students and undergraduate students. About half of Hope Dental’s volunteers are students, with 50 active dentists serving at the clinic on a regular basis.

The clinic provides free dental services to people without insurance who are otherwise unable to pay for care. The most common services provided are cleanings, fillings and extractions, but Hope Dental also offers exams and sealants.

“When you’re suffering with infection, pain, swelling, those things in your mouth — it really affects your life overall,” Flotterud said. “You’re going to be missing work days and school days and that just leads to additional issues.”

According to volunteer dentist Eric Grutzner, dental pain is one of the most common reasons for people to miss work or go to the emergency room. Being able to relieve patient’s pain and send them home with a smile is one of the most rewarding parts of volunteering, Grutzner said.

Grutzner describes the clinic as Minnesota Nice, where you can expect to be taken care of and occasionally driven home afterward, as exemplified by the late Union Gospel chaplain Wally Kowitz.

Howard Kidder started the clinic in 1965 as a program of Union Gospel Mission, according to volunteer dentist Brent Martin. Kidder was an electrical engineer who installed much of the clinic’s equipment, which he maintained in addition to providing financial support.

Mittelsteadt first started volunteering as a dental student in 1984.

He recalled treating a patient in his 60s who looked as if he was in his 80s. He learned the man had lived under a nearby bridge for two decades years, struggling with mental illness and drug addiction. Clinic staff were able to address some of his chronic mouth pain.

“We got him out of pain,” Mittelsteadt said. “He was so thankful to finally get some relief.”