From the Boston Globe:

Advocates in Massachusetts say the state’s decision to close the Fernald Development Center will trigger a loss of dental care for some 2,100 people with disabilities who have long been ignored by private dentists.

“Where will they go?’’ said Marilyn Meagher, who heads the advocacy group Fernald League for the Retarded Inc. “These are extremely handicapped people. It is going to be very devastating for them.’’

The Waltham dental clinic is located on the Fernald campus, which is set to close June 30. Officials for the state and for Tufts University, which runs the clinic, said they are working to make sure that people will still be able to access dental care at other Tufts clinics.

From the Associated Press/USA Today:

Members of Congress attacked the dental industry in a hearing this week, blaming mercury in dental fillings for autism and and a wide range of other problems. A spokesman for the American Dental Association faced deeply personal diatribes from Reps. Dan Burton, R-Ind., and Diane E. Watson, D-California, amid demands that dentists do more to keep dental fillings out of wastewater.

The FDA last month for the first time posted an advisory on its website warning that silver dental fillings and the mercury they contain may pose a safety concern for pregnant women and young children. Mercury makes up as much as 54 percent of silver fillings.

(more…)

By Mary Engel in the Los Angeles Times:

Few dentists in California will accept patients with disabilities, and experts say the problem is only getting worse. Among the causes: dental schools don’t teach students how to care for patients with disabilities; dentists won’t accept Denti-Cal patients because reimbursements in California are among the lowest in the nation; and hospitals won’t extend staffing privileges to dentists whose patients may need general anesthesia.

Parents are frustrated by long waits at backlogged county and teaching hospitals, and many search for months to find a dentist willing to treat a person with disabilities. “It’s going to come to the point that there’s not going to be anywhere people can go,” said dentist Diana Zschaschel. “We’re going to be like in the 1800s, when people actually died of dental infections.” Dr. Zschaschel sets aside one day a week to care for patients with disabilities.

See earlier posts:

Dental clinic serves a group often neglected

Help wanted: Dentists for Medicaid kids

From the Toledo Blade:

Kids with disabilities who rely on Medicaid lack access to dental care, putting them at risk for medical complications, say Ohio dentists.

Low reimbursement rates are chief among the reasons why dentists don’t routinely accept disabled or poor children covered by Medicaid. Programs in Ohio, for example, pay about 51 cents on the dollar, while Medicaid reimbursements in Michigan are even less and vary by plan, dentists and others handling claims say.

From Exceptional Parent:

As part of a series on health care for children with special needs, Exceptional Parent magazine offers this essay on establishing a “dental home” for your child during infancy.

Parents are urged to make a connection with a knowledgeable pediatric dentist before the child’s first birthday, preferably one who is a good listener and is comfortable with children with disabilities. Parents are also encouraged to collaborate with the dentist, and to share any information about their child that might be helpful.

A checklist for parents is included.

Caters to patients with disabilities.

In the Philadelphia area, a new clinic aims to address a pervasive problem: lack of access to dental care for people with disabilities. Many parents are delighted. “A lot of places that I’ve taken my daughter to didn’t even want to touch her,” said one grateful mother. Yet the situation is less than ideal, creating yet another situation in which people with disabilities are segregated away from the general population.

The Arc of Pennsylvania, which advocates for people with mental retardation, has made legislation to improve dental care a priority this year. A big part of the problem: only about a quarter of Pennsylvania dentists accept Medicaid.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer.