Low-income children have more tooth decay, less access to dentists

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The state has just made it easier for dentists to move to Wisconsin but it might not help patients who need the most care.

The state’s licensing agency has agreed to accept the results of competency tests taken by dentists in other parts of the country. More states are doing that.

And the dean of Marquette’s dentistry school, William Lobb, calls it a good move and one less hurdle for students.

But Dr. Mike Kaske of the Wisconsin Dental Association says it might not make it easier for low-income children to see a dentist.

That’s because Medicaid does not reimburse the full cost of treating the poor who have far more dental problems than others.

Kaske says his group keeps putting the heat on lawmakers to increase the reimbursements like other states are doing.

He says it would dramatically increase poor people’s access to dental care.

The surgeon general says low-income kids have twice as much tooth decay as more affluent youngsters and 25 percent of children get 80 percent of the cavities.

Tags: low income, wisconsin, dentists, children