Dental News - California Dental Association assesses dental workforce capacity and training

Dental Tribune USA

Wed. 7 January 2015

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SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA: By the end of 2014, through expanded entitlement under the Affordable Care Act, the number of children eligible for Denti-Cal benefits was expected to exceed 5 million — slightly more than 50 percent of the state’s childhood population, according to the California Dental Association. The Journal of the California Dental Association recently focused on the dental workforce capacity and the training needed to care for these children.

“Under the Affordable Care Act, the number of children eligible for Denti-Cal benefits will soon exceed 5 million,” said Kerry K. Carney, editor-in-chief of the journal. “This issue takes a look at the capacity of the pediatric dental safety net in California to meet the needs of these low-income children.”

In the article “Dental Workforce Capacity and California’s Expanding Pediatric Medicaid Population,” the authors examine the dental workforce for low-income pediatric patients in California in the context of the 2014 implementation of the Affordable Care Act. They conclude that the likely increase in the Denti-Cal population and the concurrent decrease in the number of dentists willing or able to treat this population is reason for concern.

“Expanding Public Coverage for Dental Services: Pathway to Improvements or Hollow Promise?” is an article that contrasts the performance of California’s Medicaid dental program with progress in other states. The author outlines major reasons for performance gaps and raises concerns about recent policymakers’ decisions.

The article titled “Educating General Dentists to Care for U.S. Children: How Well Are We Doing and What Can We Do Better?” is a commentary that attempts to put the debate over the care of children by general dentists in perspective with a review of salient issues, discussion of preliminary new information in relation to existing literature and proposals for improvement.

“Pediatric Dentistry for the General Practitioner: Satisfying the Need for Additional Education and Training Opportunities” provides a discussion of the Pediatric Oral Health Access Program, widely recognized as the first large-scale effort to provide advanced education and training in pediatric dentistry to general dentists.

The California Dental Association is the non-profit organization representing organized dentistry in California. Founded in 1870, CDA is committed to the success of our members in service to their patients and the public. CDA also contributes to the oral health of Californians through various comprehensive programs and advocacy. CDA’s membership consists of more than 25,000 dentists, making it the largest constituent of the American Dental Association.

(Source: California Dental Association)

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