New Jersey Impact as of August 2018
Back at our dental home in Bloomfield, NJ, we have seen an explosion of patients, now hailing from 55 different cities across the state!
As you know, patients of KinderSmile Community Oral Health Center can be privately insured (6.6%), insured by a state Medicaid plan (83.7%), or uninsured entirely (9.7%). These last two categories of patients face a slew of barriers to accessing dental care, but the most common reasons why kids with Medicaid or who are uninsured do not get to see a dentist are cost and time.
Consider this:
A recent survey conducted by the Montclair Community Council for Young Children found that there are six (6) dentists located in Montclair,—the town adjacent to our Bloomfield home base, and the location where KinderSmile Foundation was established more than a decade ago—but there are none (0) who accept any forms of Medicaid or NJ FamilyCare.
What good is an insurance plan if there are no providers who accept it?
Further, if Medicaid recipients can’t even access healthcare, what hope is there for children who are uninsured?
We are grateful for your support in providing a solution.
More than 1,300 children children have been served at our dental home in the first half of 2018. These are kids whose …
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- Parents have made countless phone calls between multiple jobs and families to take care of, searching for a dentist who would accept their insurance and who have appointment times that don’t interfere with their workday.
- School nurses have knocked on the doors of healthcare professionals to make exceptions for their students with chronic headaches stemming from cavities long untreated.
- Oral health needs are finally being addressed at KinderSmile Community Oral Health Center, where we care about their well-being, regardless of their family’s income.