Kids with urgent needs will get care too thanks to visiting Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today
Approximately 600 three and four-year-olds enrolled in the Milwaukee Public Schools and Social Development Commission Head Start programs will receive free dental exams, cleanings and fluoride treatments on Oct. 7, 2006 from 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) Dental Hygiene Clinic, 700 W. Highland Ave. in Milwaukee. Another 50 children will be seen at Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC), 800 Main St., in Pewaukee.
The oral health services are valued at more than $6,000 and will be provided as part of the eighth annual Head Start Dental Day. This event is organized by United Dental Professionals, an education and service organization of the Greater Milwaukee Dental Association (GMDA) and Milwaukee Regional Dental Hygiene Association. The dental care will be delivered by 180 volunteers, including dentists, dental hygienists and student clinicians from Marquette University School of Dentistry and the MATC and WCTC dental hygiene programs. Spanish and Hmong interpreters will be available.
The day’s activities are underwritten by a Wisconsin Dental Foundation grant and volunteers’ lunch will be provided by Wisconsin Dental Association Insurance Programs, Inc.
In addition to the exams, pediatric dentists at the MATC site will treat children with urgent dental care needs from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. in Sullivan-Schein’s Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today (TDOT) mobile unit. This innovative vehicle showcases the latest in digital dental technology and serves as a state-of-the-art treatment center. The TDOT unit will have contributed to dental care outreach efforts in more than 20 cities, including Milwaukee, before taking up permanent residence in Mississippi later this year for use by volunteer dentists treating hurricane victims.
This event helps youngsters comply with the preschool program’s annual dental exam requirement. It gives dental professionals an opportunity to treat uninsured or underserved children and promote basic oral hygiene to low-income families. Dental and dental hygiene students also obtain valuable clinical experience. Each child who participates will receive a new toothbrush and toothpaste.
“This is just one more example of how Wisconsin dentists do serve by donating millions of dollars in oral care each year to low-income children and adults,” says Dr. Thomas Raimann, event chairman.
FREE HEAD START DENTAL EXAMS, URGENT CARE IN MOBILE UNIT – 2
In April 2005, a Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) report confirmed Wisconsin Dental Association (WDA) concerns that Medicaid (MA) patients in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine and Kenosha counties have trouble accessing dental care despite the state’s $10 million payment to medical Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) for the provision of dental services.
According to DHFS, Wisconsin spent approximately $2.7 million more under the HMO dental MA program in the four southeastern counties during the 2003 fiscal year than it would have spent for the exact same services had they been provided under the fee-for-service program operating in the state’s remaining 68 counties. The DHFS report also concluded that HMO-enrolled children were less likely to receive dental care than those in the fee-for-service system. A formal, detailed report on the dental HMO program from the Legislative Audit Bureau is 12 months overdue.
The AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics (physicians) says 20 percent of all health care funds spent on children should be directed at improving and maintaining oral health. I n Wisconsin, state and federal governments currently spend only $38 million, or less than one percent, of a total $4.4 billion annual MA budget on oral health programs for children and adults. Compared to Wisconsin, four out of every five states spend a higher percentage of their MA dollars on dental care for low-income individuals of all ages.
State Rep. Josh Zepnick (D-Milwaukee), lead author of 2005 AB 1168 or the Two Cents for Tooth Sense™ (Tooth Cents™) dental MA proposal, has recruited 14 legislative colleagues in both houses and from both political parties to serve as co-sponsors. The estimated impact of this bill would be less than two cents per 12-ounce can of soda (i.e., Two Cents for Tooth Sense™) and generate an estimated $70 million annually in state funds that would then be matched by federal funds.
The bill also calls for Tooth Cents™ funds to be placed in a special trust fund to support a recommended increase in dental MA reimbursements to the 75th percentile of the most recent American Dental Association fee survey for our region of the country. According to the bill draft, any money not needed to increase reimbursement rates could be used to fund other worthy oral health care outreach and educational projects.
Excessive consumption of soda has an obvious negative impact on oral health, so there is a legitimate argument for earmarking soda-fee revenues for the specific purpose of improving access to dental care under the state’s MA program says Raimann.
Established in 1870, the Wisconsin Dental Association (WDA) is headquartered in West Allis. With more than 2,900 members statewide, the WDA represents the vast majority of practicing dentists in Wisconsin. Its members are committed to promoting professional excellence and quality oral health care. The WDA is one of 53 constituent (state-territorial) dental societies of the American Dental Association - the largest and oldest national dental association in the world. The Greater Milwaukee Dental Association serves MilwaukeeCounty. For more information on the WDA, call 414-276-4520 or visit http://www.wda.org/.