Survey IDs remaining gaps in RI dental care access

A survey of "dental safety-net providers" has highlighted significant gains in access to dental care in Rhode Island from 2005 to 2009 while confirming that considerable gaps in coverage for adults persists, the Providence Journal reported.

The survey, released May 18 by the Rhode Island Oral Health Commission, compiles the responses of community health centers, hospital dental clinics, mobile clinics, and school- and community-based programs that serve the poor and uninsured in the state.

More than half of Rhode Island seniors 65 and older lack dental insurance, while more than 25% of those 18 to 64 are without it, the article noted. To tackle the problem, efforts were made to expand the capacity of dental safety-net providers, which led to a doubling of the net's workforce since the completion of a previous survey by Rhode Island Kids Count in 2005 and 2006, according to the article.

The ranks of patients served also increased significantly, by 106% at hospital-based centers, 51% at community health centers, and 22% at other clinics, the Journal reported.

Inadequate Medicaid reimbursement rates and insufficient space are limiting the ability of dental care providers to serve the community, the article stated.

The survey, which requested information from 2009 and was completed in 2010 and 2011, was a joint effort by the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Rhode Island Health Center Association, and Rhode Island Kids Count, according to the article.