Medicaid and Dental Care in Rural Wisconsin

Too few dentists, too much pain in rural Wisconsin communities, By David Wahlberg, May 23, 2010, Wisconsin State Journal: “When Rob Homerding’s teeth started to crumble and ache, he tried to find a dentist who would take Medicaid. He and his wife called 20 dentists around Monroe, where they live, but no one would treat him. By the time he saw a dentist two years later, a dozen teeth had to be pulled. His daughter’s friends made fun of his gap-ridden mouth. He stopped smiling. ‘It probably wouldn’t have gotten this bad if I had found a dentist earlier,’ said Homerding, 38, a butcher in New Glarus. Dental care can be difficult to find in rural parts of Wisconsin and throughout the country – especially for people on Medicaid, the state-federal health plan for the poor, and those with no insurance…”