Full dental services were officially restored for adults covered by Medi-Cal on Jan. 1, but according to local health care providers, many individuals who qualify still don’t know about the recently expanded benefits.
“They’re automatically covered if they have Medi-Cal,” said John Luther, chief dental officer at Western Dental. “So in California, this is a very significant part of the population. Some 13.5 million people are covered under these benefits.”
As the largest provider of Denti-Cal services in the state with locations in Santa Maria, Luther said Western Dental is working to spread the word about the restoration of Medi-Cal’s dental services, which were drastically cut in 2009 during the economic downturn. While partial dental benefits were returned to Medi-Cal in May 2014, Luther said benefits were only fully restored recently, after Gov. Jerry Brown approved Senate Bill 97 in July 2017.
The bill requires the state to allocate $73 million a year to Denti-Cal, according to a Western Dental press release, allowing for the full restoration of its services.
Adult services covered through Medi-Cal now include posterior root canal therapy, full and partial denture repairs, adjustments, and relines, and white crowns for front teeth, which Luther said is an essential operation for individuals in need of jobs.
Periodontal services, gum treatments, will also be included. Luther said the availability of this service is especially important because without healthy gums, individuals can’t have healthy teeth. Health care providers, he said, are also seeing more connection between gum disease and other chronic inflammatory diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.
“It’s important that people with other chronic diseases are treating and controlling their gum disease for the good of their overall health,” Luther said.
Luther said he and other health care providers suggest that individuals covered by Medi-Cal schedule appointments for dental exams and cleanings as soon as possible.
This article appears in Feb 1-8, 2018.