As the DSS Commissioner is legally responsible to ensure access to care, the lawsuit appropriately holds the Commissioner fully accountable for her failure to enforce federal law. The state legislature has established a Dental Advisory Council to review oral health services and to advise DSS on methods to achieve compliance with Medicaid legislation. Compliance with the law will improve a lot of lives. But we need to be thinking creatively about the fact that we have the ability to prevent the crisis of dental disease in the first place. Waiting until children get to school, where so many of our community dental outreach programs are located, is an outmoded concept.
Kids can get into serious dental trouble by then.
Get families involved. Support outreach programs which increase awareness of methods of prevention of dental disease. We simply do not have enough dentists to meet our needs. Let's encourage thoughtful, responsible alternatives, which may include training other health professionals to perform preventive services. Increase Medicaid reimbursement to dental providers.