Salem is the only city in this directory built across two county lines, which puts one of its ZIP codes in a different Oregon Health Plan service area from the rest.
Salem straddles Marion and Polk counties. Most of the city sits in Marion, the west side across the Willamette in Polk.
For Oregon Health Plan purposes that split usually doesn't matter, because one organization covers both counties: PacificSource Community Solutions Marion/Polk serves all of Marion and all of Polk. The exception is worth knowing. Yamhill Community Care's Polk County service list includes ZIP 97304, which is a Salem ZIP on the west side.
Population was 181,779 as of July 2025, the largest of the Oregon cities in this directory. 15.8 percent of residents are 65 or over (Census QuickFacts, ACS 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates).
The State Board of Denture Technology issues every denturist licence in Oregon, and Salem adds no local registration. The board sits under the Oregon Health Authority's Health Licensing Office, not the Board of Dentistry, which is a real separation rather than a filing detail: denturists are exempt from dentist licensure under ORS 679.025 and licensed on their own terms under ORS 680.500 to 680.565.
Two licence types appear on the state's public lookup. D is a denturist. DO is a denturist with an oral pathology endorsement. The difference decides whether ORS 680.545 applies, which requires denturists licensed before 2004 without that endorsement to obtain a signed statement from a dentist or other listed provider, dated within 30 days, before treating anyone.
Full and partial dentures, relines, repairs and the chairside steps that go with them: impressions, bite registrations, try-ins and insertions, under ORS 680.500(3). Extractions, crowns, bridges, implants and treatment of gum disease are dentistry and go to a dentist. OAR 331-420-0000 requires a denturist to record the condition of the soft tissue at each course of treatment and to refer out where indicated.