During this time of year, we often reflect on time spent with friends, families, colleagues and patients while we reset goals and ambitions for the upcoming year.
I was very pleased to see the new data out of the ADA Health Policy Institute showing that Maryland saw an uptick in the number of “Dentists Working in Dentistry” in 2022 (4270). This is gratifying after a slight decrease in 2021, likely due to retirements during the pandemic. We are 8th among the 50 states plus the District of Columbia in the number of dentists per capita – slightly better than previous years. There’s a great deal of interesting data here that I urge you to take a look at. This will go hand-in-hand with the data that the ADA Health Policy Institute is collecting from Maryland dentists regarding participation in the Medicaid program.
Most gratifying, however, are the dentists in our state who have really stepped up as a new Dental Medicaid program was created for adults. The most recent data shows 1,145 unique providers serving this population. This is a remarkable improvement over the number of providers who were caring for the adult Medicaid population a little over a year ago (680). There are 1,660 total providers serving the entire Medicaid population (Children/ Former Foster Children / Maternal & Post-Partum / Rare & Expensive Case Management (REM) / Adults).
While there continues to be a shortage of dental specialists, it is so exciting to see the jump in participation. Thank you, as this helps us as we head to the Maryland General Assembly and advocate for much-needed increased reimbursements for our services (more to come on that in the coming weeks!).
One of the main focuses of the dental profession is providing care to those in need and ensuring that everyone has access to that care. Through the Maryland Healthy Smiles program, we have as many opportunities as we would like to provide care to those enrolled in Medicaid.
In addition, our MSDA Foundation is partnering with the ADA to host the Give Kids A Smile program across Maryland. The program provides free oral health care and education to underserved children throughout the state.
Several MSDA members host Give Kids A Smile events in their offices where they provide free oral health care, while others provide oral hygiene education, oral hygiene products, information, and resources to find a dentist (Maryland Healthy Smiles), referral services, and school supplies at a local elementary school. Generally, the events kick off the first Friday in February as Children’s Dental Health Month gets underway and will continue throughout the year.
The Foundation is looking for more people to participate in these events by joining others already scheduled or creating your own. Please let Saisha at the Foundation know if you are interested. You can reach her at Foundation@msda.com. She would love to hear from you!
Happy holidays.