Medi-Cal Coverage To Smile About (NAPSA)—Morethan third of Cal- ifornians receive health care through Medi-Cal, and while most members know that dental coverageis included, manydonotusethe benefit. The Medi-Cal Dental Program is working to change that with Siile, Cal- ifornia, a new campaign to increase dental visits among eligible members and increase the number ofchildren receiving preventive services and molar A new campaignis working to increase the numberofchildren redentalcare. than 13.5 million members in Califor- events to help members learn about services each year. mote the importanceof routine dental appointmentsfor a healthy mouth. sealants. Medi-CalDentalcovers routine, preventive and restorative care for more nia, but less than half of children and. only about20percentof adults use these Earlier this year, Medi-Cal con- ducted a study of more than 2,600 par- ents of child membersto uncover why they are not taking full advantage of their child’s dental benefit. “Parents told us they want to help their children be healthy but need more information about covered services,” says Alani Jackson, Chief of the Medi- Cal Dental Services Division within the California Department of Health Care Services. Through Smile, California, members canlearn aboutfree and low-cost dental services and howto tapinto the network of more than 10,000 Medi-Cal dental providers to find a dentist. The new campaign website and materials will deliver the facts on the Medi-Cal dental benefit and connect membersto care through the provider database. Members canalsocallthe cus- tomerservice line at 1-800-322-6384. Smile, California will use social media, direct mail and community oral health needs at every age and pro- “Regular checkups and cleanings save time and moneyand reduce your risk of more serious problems,explains Jackson. Medi-Cal includes free checkups every six months forchildren andevery 12 monthsfor adult members ages 21 and older. But Jackson says membereducation is only part of the equationfor increased useofdentalservices. “We want to remove any mystery around dental coverage, promote the benefits of regular dentalvisits, and at the same time grow the provider net- work so members can easily find the care they need and want.” To meet the increasing demand for dentalservices, the campaign is working to add more dentists to the MediCal Dental Program and pursuingalternativeslike teledentistry to bring care to more communitiesin California. For more information, visit www. SmileCalifornia.org.
