The Coastal Health Alliance is hoping to move its dental practice from a van to a brick-and-mortar office. After three years in operation, the van, parked behind the Point Reyes Station Community Health Center on B Street, has proven to hamstring services with its cramped space and limited infrastructure. When a location opened up in the Livery Stable building, the health alliance’s executive director, Steven Siegel, seized the opportunity. The nonprofit submitted plans for the move, and a proposed expansion of the new office space, to the county last month. The van—whose $300,000 price tag was paid for by the Marin Community Foundation, county funds, First 5 Marin and private donors—was always intended to be a short-term solution, Mr. Siegel said. Though it was originally intended to travel through West Marin, it makes its only visit, down to Bolinas, three or four times a year. Mr. Siegel said that moving it is a logistical headache and leads to an even longer commute for staff, most of whom do not live in West Marin. He estimates the relocation will cost $750,000, part of which will come from a $200,000 grant from the county to expand Medi-Cal services. The health alliance is one of the few community health centers geared toward adults, and one of the few dental centers in the area that takes on uninsured and Medi-Cal patients. Mr. Siegel is betting on the fact that having an actual office—which he said will be seven times larger than the van—will help with a whole host of issues. More breathing room could make it easier to hire dentists, he said, and would certainly allow them to see more patients. Currently, the van has just two dental chairs. The new office would add two chairs and could double the number of weekly appointments from the current roughly 60. A larger space would also allow for more complex procedures for which there is real patient need. Dr. Daniel Ramirez, one of the practice’s two dentists, estimates that half of his patients on a given week are referred elsewhere because he cannot perform the procedures they require inside the van. This is true for operations such as root canals, which Sandra Alvarez, the nonprofit’s dental services coordinator, said are difficult to get covered. “Looking for a provider that accepts Medi-Cal for a root canal is very challenging,” she said. “Medi-Cal covers the benefit, but there isn’t anybody [else] in the area who accepts it.”  Dentures are another need the dental van cannot meet. “Dentures are a huge service, especially with the homeless community in the area that have had teeth extractions and aren’t able to keep up with visits,” Ms. Alvarez said. “We had someone the other day who needed dentures, and unfortunately that’s just not something that we’re providing right now because the space is so limited [and] we don’t have a lab in the space. Once we go to our new space, that will be huge.” And as for the van? Once the expansion is complete, Mr. Siegel said he plans to “ride it off into the sunset.”