Jenny Kattlove, director of strategic health initiatives for the Children’s Partnership, said transportation is also a barrier to dental care for California children.
“We need to think of creative solutions, bringing care to where children are at school sites and using telehealth technology,” Kattlove said.
The Children’s Partnership is supporting AB 1174 by Assembly members Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) and Daniel Logue (R-Sacramento) which would approve Medi-Cal reimbursements for tele-dentistry. The bill, making its way through the Assembly, would emulate the Virtual Dental Home pilot project at the University of the Pacific’s School of Dentistry. Under the program, dental hygienists and dental assistants see children at elementary schools and Head State Centers, where they take X-rays, radiographs and pictures that are transmitted to dentists who diagnose and prescribe treatment.
