Gov. Newsom cannot roll back progress on children’s dental care | Opinion

Sacramento County’s rate of children receiving Medi-Cal Dental services over the years has increased from about 20% to nearly 50%, but new budget cuts from the governor’s office now threaten to return Sacramento to a time when most children with Medi-Cal could not get dental care.

Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease affecting children, and its consequences reach far beyond mouth pain. Children with untreated dental problems struggle to eat, sleep and concentrate in school. In 2022 alone, dental problems caused more than 351,000 California children to miss at least one day of school.

That is why Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed state budget is so concerning. The plan would eliminate $144 million from the Medi-Cal Dental program that provides dental services for low-income children who depend on publicly funded care. Families already struggle to find dentists who accept Medi-Cal, and a reduction of this size would decimate dental care for Sacramento’s neediest children.

I’ve been tracking children’s oral health in Sacramento County for nearly two decades. While working at First 5 Sacramento, I repeatedly heard from parents, school officials and community groups that children with Medi-Cal coverage still could not get a dental appointment.

To better understand the situation, we commissioned a countywide study in 2010 and again in 2015. The results were alarming: only about 20% of children enrolled in Medi-Cal Dental coverage in Sacramento County were receiving services, and 8 in 10 children who were eligible for care were not seeing a dentist.

That finding prompted a sustained effort to change the system. Providers, advocates and public agencies began working together to address the barriers families faced. We created the Children’s Dental Task Force (now known as the Medi-Cal Dental Advisory Committee), to bring dentists, community leaders and parents together, and we began meeting regularly with state officials to explain what local families were experiencing. First 5 Sacramento also developed six children’s dental clinics designed to serve families enrolled in Medi-Cal.

These efforts, along with increased state payments to Medi-Cal dental providers in 2016, gradually expanded access to care. But the need for care remains significant. About 70% of emergency room visits for dental conditions in Sacramento are preventable. When children and adults receive preventive care and dental problems are addressed early, treatment is relatively simple. But delays can allow small cavities to develop into serious infections.

Some families eventually turn to hospital emergency departments for help, but emergency rooms are often unequipped to provide dental care, and they charge more than $2,400 on average to treat dental conditions. In 2021, more than 3,200 Sacramento residents ended up in emergency rooms for preventable dental conditions.

Sacramento County, along with the rest of the state, has begun to improve access to dental care for children. Lawmakers should reject the governor’s cuts and maintain Sacramento’s important progress.

Debra Payne is a consultant to First 5 Sacramento and founder of the Children’s Dental Task Force. She has worked with community leaders, providers and state officials for nearly two decades to expand access to dental care for children and adults in Sacramento County.