Kansas City, Mo ? Third-grader Alex Davis has never been to a dentist, but he says he’s not afraid of his first visit.

“I feel safe about going to the dental clinic,” he said. “It is here at our school.”

Alex’s school, McCoy Elementary School, on Tuesday became the first school in Missouri to offer an in-house dental and medical clinic.

The Panda Place Wellness Center — named after the school’s mascot — was dedicated Tuesday in honor of the late Gov. Mel Carnahan and physician Samuel U. Rodgers for their efforts to improve the health and welfare of children.

The dental clinic has three chairs and will be staffed full time by Dr. Pat Mason-Dozier or her staff, a full-time hygienist and two dental assistants. The school has had a medical clinic for more than seven years.

They currently are taking oral dental health histories from each of McCoy’s 310 kindergarten through fifth-graders. Every student will then be treated, with priority given to those with the most serious problems.

Students will be treated without regard to the parents’ or guardians’ ability to pay, said principal Jo Nemeth. About 95 percent of the parents with students in the school have signed up to use the clinic, she said.

The clinic is partly underwritten by a three-year grant of more than $223,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center.