Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Washtenaw County considers dental clinic for Medicaid patients

Excerpt from: AnnArbor.com (click for full article)

 

Washtenaw County’s next move to help low-income individuals gain access to services may be in the form of a new dental clinic for individuals on Medicaid.

“We have met people who are ashamed to smile, and that’s embarrassing. Their self-worth is lowered. Their ability to interact with people is diminished, and their ability to apply for a job is diminished,” said Dick Fleece, director of Washtenaw County Public Health.

Less than one percent of the 300 dentists in Washtenaw County accept Medicaid patients because the reimbursement rate for dental care through the program is “dismally low,” Fleece said.

There are various free clinics in existence now -- including Hope Clinic and the University of Michigan School of Dentistry's Community Dental Clinic -- but there is a greater need for a clinic to provide dental services, Fleece said.

Dental treatment not reaching most Medicaid-eligible youth

Excerpt from: Coloradoan.com (click for full article)

 

State Medicaid data reported to the federal government show that less than half of the 453,000 Coloradans under age 21 who were eligible for benefits in federal fiscal year 2011 received some kind of dental service. Only a quarter of Colorado counties met a 2010 state goal of getting at least 44 percent of Medicaid-eligible residents under age 19 to visit a dentist, according to an I-News analysis of state records.

“Dental disease is not self-resolving,” says Diane Brunson, director of public health for the University of Colorado’s School of Dental Medicine. “It’s not like catching a cold and you put up with it for a week or 10 days and you’re fine. You have to get treatment. And it’s so much more beneficial all the way around — to the child, to their family, to taxpayers — if dental problems can be prevented.”

Dental clinic offers affordable relief for Medicaid users, uninsured

Excerpt from: The Spokesman Review (click for full article)

 

The IDEA Clinic is funded by the fees patients pay and by donations and volunteer hours given by members of the dental society. It has also received grants from, among others, the Murdock Foundation, Empire Health Foundation and local businesses such as Aurum Group Dental Laboratory.

The IDEA Clinic has the potential to treat 4,000 patients a year, with a focus on adult Medicaid dental users. More than 12,000 individuals fall into that category in Spokane County, and statistics compiled by the Spokane Regional Health District show that oral health-related visits to local emergency rooms are up by more than 100 percent over the past five years.

Wesley said badly decayed or missing teeth are not only painful, but also sometimes keep people from getting jobs.

“Some of the people we have already seen are in so much pain, I don’t know how they do it,” said Wesley. “They do it because they don’t have a choice. Maybe we can help with that.”

Treating the Dental Patient with a Developmental Disorder

Excerpt from: Dentistry IQ (click for full article)

 

The publication Treating the Dental Patient with a Developmental Disorder (Wiley, August 2012) provides the dental and dental hygiene professions, and the dental academic community, with a cornerstone reference work on treating dental patients with intellectual and developmental disorders.

Dental care is often lacking or openly denied for people with intellectual and development disabilities: Based on research by the Special Olympics, “39% of Special Olympics athletes have obvious untreated tooth decay, 29% are missing teeth, and 15% of athletes experience pain in their mouths due to dental problems on a regular basis.”

The major types of developmental disabilities covered in Treating the Dental Patient with a Developmental Disorder include autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, attention deficit disorder, cerebral palsy-and others such as spina bifida and learning difficulties.