The Minnesota Oral Health Care Solutions Project: implications for people with special needs

Disparities in oral health status and access to dental care are major problems for people with special needs in Minnesota and across the country. The current delivery system for people with special needs is failing. Patients, community leaders, private dentists, safety net clinics, and state agencies are frustrated with the Medicaid program that funds the current system; and everyone is looking for new solutions. What would an improved oral health care system and Medicaid model look like? This paper describes Minnesota's Oral Health Care Solutions Project that seeks to answer this question and highlights the implications of a new model for people with special needs. The low reimbursements and administrative burdens of Minnesota's Medicaid program have led many dentists to reduce or stop seeing public program patients. As a result, many people with special needs have been unable to obtain routine dental care and therefore seek treatment in emergency rooms.