Things You May Not Know About Medicaid Dental Benefits

Would you believe more than 28 million people in the United States have dental benefits through Medicaid? That’s a lot of people! If you are one of them, rest assured, you aren’t alone. While Medicaid is an invaluable health care plan that has helped millions of Americans get the medical and dental care they need, it can also be confusing and difficult to navigate.

Medicaid Dental Benefits Basics

While it would take the rest of the year to dig through all
of the rules and regulations surrounding Medicaid, we dug up a few basic things
you may not know about Medicaid
dental benefits.

• Medicaid dental benefits are not required for adults – while 46 states and the District of Columbia offer some level of Medicaid dental benefits for adults, not all states do. Which brings us to our next fact.
• Medicaid dental benefits vary by state – in some cases widely. In some states like Arizona, the Medicaid dental benefit only offers emergency benefits, while other states like New Mexico offer far more extensive benefits including preventive and specialty dental care.
• Medicaid dental benefits can vary within the state – with the expansion of Medicaid coverage in 2016, some states provide additional benefits to the original Medicaid population that the expanded population doesn’t receive.
• Medicaid dental benefits are often not called Medicaid – plan names vary widely by state, but ultimately are funded under Medicaid.
• Plan years vary by state – in some states, Medicaid dental benefits are calculated on the anniversary of enrollment; in others, the benefit period resets on the same day every year. For example, in Colorado, Medicaid dental benefits renew annually on July 1^st. 
• Only 20% of dentists nationwide accept Medicaid – a select group that we’re proud to be included in! Select PERFECT TEETH practices in Colorado and New Mexico accept Medicaid.

Unbelievably, every year, millions of Medicaid dental benefits dollars go unused. Don’t let that happen to you! If you have dental benefits under Medicaid, make sure you take advantage of them to keep your mouth and yourself healthy. If you have questions about your Medicaid dental benefits in Colorado or New Mexico, or need to schedule your next dental appointment, we’d love to help! Find a Medicaid dentist in New Mexico or Colorado by using our interactive find a dentist web page – make sure you check the “Accepts Medicaid” box.