As of January 1, Adult Medi-Cal Dental Beneficiaries Saw Dental Benefits Fully Restored, Expanding Coverage to More Services
ORANGE, Calif. – Western Dental, the largest provider of dental care services to Medi-Cal Dental (also known as Denti-Cal) members, recently distributed hundreds of thousands of letters to Californians who qualify for Medi-Cal to inform them that adult dental benefits were fully restored beginning January 1, 2018. Many treatments previously not covered for adults 21 and over are now included in the Medi-Cal benefit.
In June of 2017, California lawmakers passed a bill that fully reinstated dental benefits that were reduced significantly in 2009 due to budget constraints during the Great Recession. Benefits, partially restored in 2014, are now fully restored, including coverage for deep cleanings (scaling and root planing), white crowns for front teeth, partial dentures, and root canals for back teeth.
“This is great news for the millions of Californians who currently access dental care through Medi-Cal and did not have coverage for these vital dental treatments,” said Dr. John Luther, Chief Dental Officer of Western Dental. “As the largest provider of dental care to Medi-Cal members, Western Dental is proud to partner with the state to offer these expanded benefits in every one of our 190 dental offices in California.”
Good oral health is critically important in a variety of ways, from speaking and chewing, to appearance and the ability to get a job. Additionally, certain treatments can help prevent intense pain associated with a variety of dental diseases and help prevent related non-dental diseases. One of the recently restored benefits for example, scaling and root planing, provides a deep cleaning that can help manage gum disease. Untreated gum disease makes it harder to control diabetes and is linked to other diseases such as heart disease, respiratory diseases, and even cancer.