Program Helps Patients With Disabilities Receive Much-Needed Dental Care

Individuals with significant disabilities who require sedation in order to successfully receive professional dental care are often out of luck. Many dental providers are not prepared to care for patients with special needs and the number of dental practices accepting Medicaid is low. In St. Louis, a new program is combatting this problem with an innovative collaboration. The A. T. Still University-Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health, Affinia Healthcare (a federally qualified health center), Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Washington University School of Medicine have joined forces to offer hospital-based dental care with full sedation twice a month in an operating room at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The public-private partnership accepts Missouri’s Medicaid program, or patients are charged drastically reduced fees for the care provided. The greater St. Louis area has approximately 500,000 residents with special needs. Click here to read more.