Many children with Medicaid not getting required dental care

CHICAGO (AP) — Three out of four children covered by Medicaid in four states didn't receive all required dental care over a recent two-year period, according to a federal report that recommends a government push to improve access to care.

In 2007, 12-year-old Deamonte Driver of Maryland died from an infection that started in an abscessed tooth, turning national attention to a longstanding economic disparity in children's oral health.

The Affordable Care Act's insurance expansion, which began in 2014, has only meant there are more families competing for the limited number of dentists participating in Medicaid, said Meridith Seife, a deputy regional inspector general who worked on the report.

Medicaid covers dental care for an estimated 37 million children from low-income families.

The state and federal Medicaid program varies by state, but there are national shortages of dentists who participate.

Medicaid pays about half what commercial insurance pays for pediatric dental services, according to the most recent survey by the American Dental Association, which says more dentists participate in the program when rates increase.

In 2013, the American Dental Association found that 48 percent of children with Medicaid had seen a dentist in the past year, compared to 64 percent of children with private insurance.