Friday, April 4, 2025
4/4/2025
Dental Reimbursement Program - We are one of the largest oral surgery clinical in the area and the only one that takes Ryan White-eligible patients within greater Hartford, CT. Thus we receive numerous referrals from other dental clinics who also care for these patients. The majority of our Ryan White patients seek emergency dental care when they are in pain or have difficulty chewing and often elect for extractions. However, we routinely see patients who require several visits to complete the needed extractions, which, due to the need for IV sedation leads to costs in the thousands of dollars. Nevertheless, we feel it is our due diligence to treat these patients independent of their ability to pay. Rather as a teaching institution we treat the patient’s needs first regardless of their financial situation. However, many of our patients are unable to pay for their dental care and this amount is written off as uncollectible if they do not qualify for any other assistance. Finally, preventative care is encouraged and discussed when a patient seeks any type of dental care at our facility. We attempt to educate the patient on the importance of prevention and good oral hygiene to prevent further declines in their oral health, including the need for prophylaxis and radiographs to prevent loss of teeth and dental function. However, these efforts are not always successful. Unfortunately, acute care visits make up a higher percentage of our appointments as preventative care is intangible as compared to the pain of a broken or infected tooth. Moreover, most of our patients do not have or qualify for insurance and they do not want to incur debt for preventative care that is not deemed as essential health care. We are thus requesting Ryan White funds to cover part of the costs of the high quality dental care we provide to these vulnerable patients.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).