An in-depth look at policy and cultural issues that affect Wisconsin residents.

By ANNE TRAUTNER

23 June 2021

When Barbara Price began working at the Hartfel House in Menomonee Falls 32 years ago, residents there were receiving dental care.

A local dentist treated the residents of the assisted living facility, which houses up to eight men with developmental disabilities. Over the years, that dental clinic continued seeing the patients at least once every six months.

But several months ago, the dentist moved. Adults with special needs are typically on Medicaid, but no one else in the office was willing to take Medicaid patients.

So, Price, director of the Hartfel House, began looking for a new dentist. She searched websites. She made phone calls.

“Every person I talked to told me they didn’t take Title 19 (Medicaid) patients,” Price says. “I couldn’t find a single dentist. It has been a real frustration. I have an individual with Down syndrome, and people with Down syndrome tend to have heart issues. Getting him dental care has really been worrisome. Dental health has a lot to do with heart health. I don’t want him to have bad stuff in his mouth and then it goes to his heart. It would be not good.”

Price eventually found Community Smiles Dental, a nonprofit dental provider for low-income families that has clinics in Waukesha and Menomonee Falls. It was the only option for Hartfel residents.

This is not an isolated incident. Wisconsin has a widespread dental access problem, especially among disadvantaged populations. In an effort to address this shortage, a bipartisan group of Wisconsin lawmakers has introduced legislation to create the dental therapy profession in Wisconsin, a proven solution that doesn’t require taxpayer money. Gov. Tony Evers proposed the same solution in his first budget.

The bill passed the Senate unanimously in April. It enjoys broad support in the Assembly as well, but has yet to be brought to a vote.

Dental therapists would help address the shortage throughout Wisconsin and also help supplement the care provided by shorthanded dentists at places like Community Smiles Dental.

“This would allow our dentists to focus on the more complex treatments and have the dental therapists work on some of the simple restorations, some of the things that we are paying a lot of money for the dentists to take care of. It would help reduce some of the personnel costs,” said Renee Ramirez, chief executive officer of Community Smiles Dental

Filling a gap for the disadvantaged

By ANNE TRAUTNER

23 June 2021

The Albrecht Free Clinic in West Bend gets calls daily from Medicaid patients in need of dental care.

Callers are often desperate. They have been searching for a dentist who will accept Medicaid but have been turned away repeatedly.

Patients with Medicaid coverage do not qualify for treatment at the clinic, which provides free medical and dental care for uninsured individuals who live or work in Washington County.

Clinic staff instead refer Medicaid patients to the nonprofit Community Smiles Dental in Menomonee Falls. While it is the closest dental provider that accepts Medicaid, patients often have to travel outside of their home county. For some, transportation is a barrier.

“If you have Medicaid, you have access to medical care and technically access to dental care, but there isn’t a dentist in Washington County or Ozaukee County who accepts Medicaid,” says Ruth Henkle, Albrecht’s executive director.

“A lot of individuals have no place to go when they have an infection, so they go to the emergency department because they won’t be turned away,” she says.

These visits come with a cost. In 2015, there were more than 41,000 emergency room visits in Wisconsin for preventable oral health conditions, and the visits had a total cost of nearly $27.5 million in 2012, according to a Badger Institute policy brief.

“But all they are receiving in the emergency department is a medication for the infection,” Henkle says. “It is still not fixing the tooth. Then they go without any dental care for years and years. By the time that they do get dental care, many teeth can’t be saved.”

Creating the dental therapy profession in Wisconsin would improve oral health for disadvantaged populations and create jobs without additional costs to taxpayers.

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