WASHINGTON – Like many working families in the Washington metropolitan area, Manuel and Sonia Calderon of Rockville, Md., don’t have health insurance. Manuel works rehabbing houses and Sonia stays home to take care of their four boys, including a 20 month old.

This makes it difficult for the Calderons to tend to the dental needs of their three older sons.

But just a week ago, son Ismael, 8, had his teeth cleaned, cavities filled and two infected teeth pulled at Howard University College of Dentistry’s Evening Pediatric Clinic in Washington.

No charge.

Thanks to a grant from the United Health Foundation, the Howard University College of Dentistry has opened an evening pediatric clinic that allows children under 16 to have their dental needs met and also provides free care for the uninsured.

The clinic coincides with the dental school’s Evening Adult Clinic, which has been open since 2007. Both are open from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

Dr. Candace Mitchell, an assistant professor at the College of Dentistry and director of the clinics, said providing dental care in the evening makes the service available to hundreds of children who might not get it.

“One of the reasons care is not accessible to children is because parents can’t take a day off from work to take them to the dentist,” Mitchell said. “In some cases, if they take the day off, they lose money or they can even lose their job.”

Manuel Calderon said he was incredibly thankful for the evening clinic.

“It helped us a lot,” he said. “We were really happy with the service they provided our son.”

While most patients pay for their child’s dental care, those children who don’t have insurance are treated through a $300,000 grant from the United Health Foundation.

The grant helps advance the foundation’s priorities — to create healthier communities, expand access to care to the underserved and to improve medical outcomes, officials said.

Mitchell pointed out that the foundation’s grant not only treats children, but it has a positive impact on the family unit. Since parents do not have to pay for their children, it frees up money for adults to have their own important dental work done.