Dr. Paul Heinrichs says the number of patients who could benefit from a dental clinic like the one he helps run is "infinite."
OK, so he might be exaggerating just a little.
But it's clear that the demand for dental care among the poor and those without insurance gets bigger every year. That's why the Toledo-based Dental Center of Northwest Ohio will officially open its expanded clinic today, a clinic that's gone from 12 exam rooms to 22 and added a clinic area solely for children.
The expansion was sparked by rising numbers. In 1999, the center treated 8,500 patients, and last year it saw 19,700. The center, 2138 Madison Ave., provides free or reduced cost dental care, as well as treatment for those with Medicaid, to adults and children from 13 counties in northwest Ohio.
It's gone from five part-time dentists to 18 to meet the demand at the Toledo office. The dental center also has a mobile dental program, and it has a satellite clinic in Findlay that has gone from treating a few hundred people a few years ago to 3,500 last year.
Dr. Heinrichs, chairman of the nonprofit center's board, said even with that growth the organization hasn't tapped into everyone who needs care because "there are 60,000 people in Lucas County alone who are eligible for our service."
The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, which has a small clinic that treats low-income children, has seen increased demand and recently was able to increase its hours. Demand for dental care is so high that "it's amazing," said Barbara Gunning, director of health services at the department.
Most of the problem is due to a lack of access, Dr. Heinrichs said.
Many dentists are reluctant to accept Medicaid patients because of poor reimbursement and because there's a high "no-show" rate for those appointments, Dr. Heinrichs said.
The result? In 2003, state officials estimated only 23 percent of children on Medicaid saw a dentist that year. A survey five years ago found that 40 percent of Ohioans lacked dental insurance. At the time, that lack of access was labeled the state's No. 1 health need. Kristopher Weiss, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health, said yesterday that though that data is old, it's still safe to assume the situation hasn't improved much.
Melinda Cree, the dental center's director, said her organization depends mostly on Medicaid revenue and some United Way funding. Meeting the demand, as well as paying for the clinic's $300,000 expansion, has meant that it has had to run more like a private dentist office. For example, several years ago it began paying its dentists by volume: The more work they did, the more they got paid.
The largest part of the expansion is the children's dental clinic. Located on the second floor of the building next to the old dental clinic, the brightly painted children's clinic, complete with cartoon murals on the wall, rivals that of many dental offices in the suburbs, Dr. Heinrichs said. Most of the equipment is new, more staff has been added to answer phones, and office and clerical areas are comfortable. The expansion serves patients better by cutting down on waiting time, and it also helps attract more dentists, Ms. Cree said.
Contact Luke Shockman at:
lshockman@theblade.com
or 419-724-6084.
First Published February 1, 2005, 12:37 p.m.
