by Nurse N
Out on the streets, you hear a lot of home remedies for toothaches--everything from salt
water to garlic to cloves to ice--you use what you can get your hands on. Go to a
dentist? Good luck with that! The few dentists that treat folks without money or dental
insurance--including the Stout Street Clinic, the Rescue Mission, the Denver Health
clinics -- have long waiting lists and/or long lines you must stand in to be seen. So pass
the garlic and suck it up...
And as for getting chompers to replace the ones that fell out because you couldn’t afford
dental care...you must be kidding!
But wait! Did you know that Colorado Medicaid now covers dental treatment for
ADULTS? Yes indeed! Preventive care (like cleanings and x-rays) came on board in
April, and a host of other procedures--including extractions, root canals, crowns, root
planing, scaling, and even PARTIAL AND COMPLETE DENTURES--were added in
July. There’s a $1,000 maximum benefit per calendar year--but dentures don’t count
toward that limit! And neither do emergency room visits for dental procedures.
According to the 2003 Florida Dental Care Study, which followed the dental history of
over 800 people for four years, people with incomes below the poverty line lost three
times as many teeth during the study period as those with higher incomes. By adding
dental care to Medicaid benefits Colorado is aiming to make the playing field a bit more
level. It’s about time!
So first of all, if you aren’t enrolled in Medicaid--go sign up!! You can do that in many
places around town--at St Francis, the Stout Street Clinic, Father Woody’s, The
Gathering Place, Senior Support Services, or at the Denver Health enrollment office at
723 Delaware Street. Or you can call the Denver Health Enrollment Specialists at 303-
436-7892 for help with this.
Next you need to make an appointment with a dentist who accepts new Medicaid
patients. That’s the tricky part, since many dentists do not. But more dentists should be
signing up now that the Medicaid has boosted the dental procedures reimbursement
rates--which had been abysmally low.
How to find a dentist who takes Medicaid? You can call 1-855-225-1729 (TTY 711) for
referrals to dentists who accept Medicaid and to make an appointment. If you have
access to a computer and a phone, you can also do a google search of Denver dentists
who accept Medicaid--mine yielded pages of names. (I’d give you my dentist’s number--
she’s awesome--but she might not appreciate the flood of calls, so sorry...).
Now here is a corny joke from my dad. What time should you go to the dentist?
2:30 (Tooth hurty.. get it?)
water to garlic to cloves to ice--you use what you can get your hands on. Go to a
dentist? Good luck with that! The few dentists that treat folks without money or dental
insurance--including the Stout Street Clinic, the Rescue Mission, the Denver Health
clinics -- have long waiting lists and/or long lines you must stand in to be seen. So pass
the garlic and suck it up...
And as for getting chompers to replace the ones that fell out because you couldn’t afford
dental care...you must be kidding!
But wait! Did you know that Colorado Medicaid now covers dental treatment for
ADULTS? Yes indeed! Preventive care (like cleanings and x-rays) came on board in
April, and a host of other procedures--including extractions, root canals, crowns, root
planing, scaling, and even PARTIAL AND COMPLETE DENTURES--were added in
July. There’s a $1,000 maximum benefit per calendar year--but dentures don’t count
toward that limit! And neither do emergency room visits for dental procedures.
According to the 2003 Florida Dental Care Study, which followed the dental history of
over 800 people for four years, people with incomes below the poverty line lost three
times as many teeth during the study period as those with higher incomes. By adding
dental care to Medicaid benefits Colorado is aiming to make the playing field a bit more
level. It’s about time!
So first of all, if you aren’t enrolled in Medicaid--go sign up!! You can do that in many
places around town--at St Francis, the Stout Street Clinic, Father Woody’s, The
Gathering Place, Senior Support Services, or at the Denver Health enrollment office at
723 Delaware Street. Or you can call the Denver Health Enrollment Specialists at 303-
436-7892 for help with this.
Next you need to make an appointment with a dentist who accepts new Medicaid
patients. That’s the tricky part, since many dentists do not. But more dentists should be
signing up now that the Medicaid has boosted the dental procedures reimbursement
rates--which had been abysmally low.
How to find a dentist who takes Medicaid? You can call 1-855-225-1729 (TTY 711) for
referrals to dentists who accept Medicaid and to make an appointment. If you have
access to a computer and a phone, you can also do a google search of Denver dentists
who accept Medicaid--mine yielded pages of names. (I’d give you my dentist’s number--
she’s awesome--but she might not appreciate the flood of calls, so sorry...).
Now here is a corny joke from my dad. What time should you go to the dentist?
2:30 (Tooth hurty.. get it?)
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