Oral Health Advocacy for Pregnant Women and Children

Maternal and Child Health Access (MCHA) and the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles are funded by First 5 Los Angeles through its Community Opportunities Fund, and MCHA through California Hospital Medical Center's Community Fund, to conduct the Oral Health Advocacy Project. As part of this project, MCHA has sent over 1600 surveys to known Denti-Cal providers about their experiences with providing dental care to pregnant women. If you are a Denti-Cal provider and did not get this survey, please contact: Monica Ochoa, Oral Health Policy Coordinator (213) 749-4261 ext. 360 or info@mchaccess.org.

Background
Maternal and Child Health Access began working on expanding access to dental care for pregnant women in 2001, based on the growing evidence of a link between periodontal disease and both low birth weight and premature birth and due to the limitations of benefits for women with “pregnancy-related” Medi-Cal only.  Preventive dental benefits were expanded in 2001 for women in four of the Medi-Cal aid codes most used by pregnant women.

On October 7, 2005, SB 377 (Ortiz) was signed into law, requiring the immediate implementation of 10 preventive dental benefits for ALL pregnant women with “limited scope,” or “full scope” Medi-Cal including  women with “Presumptive Eligibility” (PE) Medi-Cal. Since then, Denti-Cal has issued updates through bulletins available on their website (see link below). Benefits for pregnant and post-partum women have been increased to 21 ( See the Denti-Cal provider bulletin, May 2010, Issue 26, Vol 11). In addition, adult pregnant women are eligible for Federally Required Adult Dental Services (FRADS) and/or emergency services.

The Need is Great
In Los Angeles County, dental disease makes up one of the largest health care needs: in 2006, over 50% of pregnant women in Los Angeles had oral health problems during pregnancy; yet, over 30% of them did not see a dentist. Studies have shown a link among gum disease in pregnant women, low birth weight in newborns,  and premature deliveries, the leading cause of death in the first month of life. Hence, dental care during pregnancy is critical. However, too often oral health care during pregnancy is underutilized for fear of harm to the fetus. For women covered by Medi-Cal, oral health care is even harder to obtain during pregnancy because of the difficulty in finding a provider that both is willing to treat pregnant women and accepts Medi-Cal insurance.

Resources are Available
Despite recent cuts, pregnant and postpartum women with Medi-Cal (Dental benefits known as Denti-Cal) continue to be eligible for pregnancy-related services and services for conditions that might complicate the pregnancy. Dental providers are understandably confused about which reimbursable services may be provided for pregnant women. See the chart to the left for further information or contact us.

The Project
The Oral Health Advocacy project is a partnership between Maternal and Child Health Access and the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County. The project is funded by a First 5 LA’s Community Opportunity Fund and California Hospital Medical Center’s Community Grant.

The Oral Health project addresses policy and programmatic barriers that impede access and provision of oral health services, focusing on increasing 1) access to appropriate oral health care resources and 2) utilization of preventive and therapeutic dental health services for pregnant women and children in Los Angeles County.

Goals of the Oral Health Advocacy Project

• Provide outreach and technical assistance to low-income pregnant women and dental providers who accept Medi-Cal.
• Gather and analyze available data related to access barriers and utilization of dental services.
• Monitor preventive dental benefits for low-income and other pregnant women, particularly given upcoming health reform changes.
• Improve access to needed oral health benefits for low income children and pregnant women.

For more information, feel free to contact: Monica Ochoa, Oral Health Coordinator at info@mchaccess.org or (213) 749-4261 ext. 360.

Dental Resources