ARVIN, Calif. -- Officials with Clinica Sierra Vista are putting the finishing touches on a new dental center that will provide low-cost dental services to residents who may have never seen a dentist before.

Roughly half of Arvin's residents have either not seen a dentist in five years or at all, Steve Schilling, the clinic's CEO, said.

The center, which is set to open in about two weeks, is next to Sierra Vista's health clinic on Bear Mountain Boulevard. Once complete, it will be able to treat up to seven patients at the same time, Schilling said.

The dental clinic cost about $1.4 million to build, with much of those costs covered through the America Recovery and Re-Investment Act.

With the help of Rep. Jim Costa, (D)-Fresno, Clinica Sierra Vista won a total grant of about $8 million to build dental clinics like the one in Arvin in east Bakersfield and Fresno.