University of Southern California School of Dentistry
Division of Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Epidemiology
Marjorie Domingo, D.D.S.
Director, USC Mobile Clinic
Norris Dental Science Center, University Park, Los Angeles CA 90089-0641

Email: mdomingo@usc.edu

Click to Download 
the Acrobat file for the 
Fact Sheet for the USC Mobile Clinic.

In 1974, Johnny Hart - the creator of BC and the Wizard of Id - granted permission to use this specially designed version of Thor as the logo for the USC Mobile Clinic.

Born out of the Dental Ambassadors program, the USC Mobile Clinic first came into being in 1968.  The program began serving migrant farm workers in Central and Southern California at clinics set up in high school gymnasiums and recreation centers.  Early on, the program depended upon the ingenuity and passion of student volunteers.  They devised unique and innovative methods such as using a paint compressor to power air-turbine handpieces to provide service to isolated and underserved populations.

In 1969, the program’s success attracted the attention of USC alumnus Walter Kiefer, president of the Condor Coach Company.  Kiefer donated a coach to the program and it was outfitted for mobile dentistry through a grant from the Doris Duke Foundation.  A year later, faculty member Charles Goldstein became advisor to the student-run Mobile Clinic.  At Goldstein’s suggestion, the Mobile Clinic focused on serving children in need rather than an entire population.

In 1971, the Mobile Clinic expanded to include Ventura County, resulting in an increase from 20 to 30 weekend clinics per year.  To meet the increased demand, dental students from UCLA joined USC’s Mobile Clinic program and have participated in weekend clinics ever since.  Mid-week clinics were added in 1975.  A year later, the service area was expanded to include local elementary schools.

To date, the Mobile Clinic has served more than 80,000 children in need.  Each year, the program holds more than a dozen week-long, clinics providing care in both rural and urban areas in Southern and Central California.  The program now boasts five vehicles, including a sterilization van and modern, portable dental equipment.  Since 1994, the Mobile Clinic has been a required clinical rotation for all doctoral dental students.