USA - ‘Our system has failed’

‘Our system has failed’
Medicaid mothers are refused dental care; groups urge changes

By Eric EyreStaff writer
Oral health advocates also have suggested that adult women receive Medicaid dental coverage up to two years after their babies are born. Cavity-causing bacteria often is passed from mother to child — sharing a spoon when tasting baby food, cleaning a pacifier and wiping a baby’s mouth. What’s more, women who go to the dentist are more likely to take their children to the dentist. It’s now recommended that infants see a dentist by their first birthday.
“When we start trying to get a parent to get a child in for dental care, it’s a lot easier if that care is already a priority with the parent,” said Dr. Elliot Shulman, a pediatric dentist at West Virginia University’s School of Dentistry. If left untreated, children’s cavities can grow larger and require extensive treatment. At a young age, children often must be sedated and treated in a hospital operating room under general anesthesia, and that can be expensive — up to $6,000 for hospital costs alone. “We’re trying to decrease the cost of care,” Shulman said.
‘Alarming’ number of women with no teeth At Roane County Family Health Care in Spencer, doctors see women with broken teeth, rotted teeth, and no teeth at all, said Larry Dent, the health center’s chief executive.
“In both Roane and Calhoun counties, we see an alarming number of young pregnant women with no teeth,” Dent said. “It’s pretty tragic. It’s a major problem for us.”
Medicaid recipients make up nearly half of all patients served at the federally subsidized rural health center. The clinic often sends patients to a local dentist and picks up the cost.
“Traditionally, the answer has been to pull the tooth. That’s cheapest and easiest,” Dent said, “but it really affects people for the rest of their lives when you get your teeth pulled early.”
The Roane health center is trying to put together a dental clinic to serve pregnant women and children. Someone donated a van and dental chairs. However, the health clinic needs another $300,000 to get the program up and running.
Dent also is searching for a dentist. “We’re going to be swamped,” Dent predicted. “If you’ve got pregnant women who can’t eat, women who are hurting with pain, they’re not going to get the nutrition they need.” Few pregnant women go to dentistsOral health advocates also want to increase the number of pregnant women under 21 covered by Medicaid who see a dentist.
Only about 25 percent of younger pregnant women across the state receive dental work each year, and the percentage has dropped in recent years, according to data from the West Virginia Health Care Authority. One possible reason: Some West Virginia dentists won’t accept low-income patients covered by Medicaid. Dentists say Medicaid patients often miss appointments. The dentists also complain about Medicaid reimbursement rates for dental services, which are among the lowest in the nation and far below dentists’ costs. Oral health advocates are trying to spread the message that pregnant women with good oral health have healthier babies

NYSCOF: fluoridated Roane and Calhoun counties.