New State Dental Director to Lead Oral Health Initiatives

For the first time since 2003, Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services has appointed a Dental Director to oversee the state’s efforts to increase the availability of dental care and improve oral health outcomes.

Filling this position is a long-overdue step toward restoring the quality of Missouri’s oral healthcare system. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks Missouri’s access to dental care 47th in the nation, and The Pew Charitable Trusts gave Missouri a ‘C’ for its policies on oral healthcare for disadvantaged children.

Without proper dental care, Missourians are more likely to suffer from oral infections, gum disease, and tooth decay. When these preventable conditions are allowed to fester, patients often turn to the emergency department where they generally receive temporary but expensive treatment.

Untreated oral diseases have also been linked to more significant health problems, including endocarditis, or an infection of the heart’s inner lining, premature births, and difficulty controlling blood sugar.

Despite the critical importance of oral health, Missouri’s Medicaid program does not cover preventative dental care for adults. These services are available to children on Medicaid, but a recent Pew study found that 63 percent of Medicaid-enrolled children in Missouri did not receive dental care in 2011. The same study found that only 11 percent of dentists participate in the Medicaid program, making it difficult for families to find a provider willing care for their children on Medicaid.

The language for the reinstatement of the Dental Director was placed in the fiscal year 2014 budget, but the funding for the position will come entirely from private organizations until federal money can be secured.

Representative Donna Lichtenegger and other members of the Appropriations – Health, Mental Health, and Social Services committee, which I chair, strongly advocated for the language needed to fill the Dental Director position.

To truly improve the wellbeing of Missourians, we need to develop a more comprehensive approach to healthcare. Making preventative services, including dental care, more accessible to our state’s Medicaid recipients must be an essential component of any Medicaid reform legislation.