Sacramento, CA - Ahead of today’s Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 hearing, dozens of groups have coalesced around the Save our Dental Care Coalition, urging legislators to reconsider cuts to the state’s Medi-Cal Dental Program.

The cuts, which were approved last year and are set to go into effect in July, would have a devastating impact on access to dental care for millions of patients across California.

“Millions of patients, including half of all kids in California, rely on Medi-Cal for their healthcare, including dental care, including my own son,” said Pat Hornbecker, President, Board of Directors, The Arc of California. “Unfortunately, access to appointments already have months long waits - stretching up to six months for an initial assessment. Treatment waitlists are prioritized by urgency, meaning “routine” care can be delayed for years. Preventive care becomes crisis care. Emergency rooms become the default dental provider."

In a news release issued by the Department of Health Care Services during National Children’s Health Month, the department said,  “Dental problems don’t just cause pain—they interrupt learning, impact confidence, and widen achievement gaps,” said Dana Durham, Chief of DHCS’ Medi-Cal Dental Services Division. “The good news is that most of these issues are preventable, and Medi-Cal covers regular dental care for children at no cost to families.”

A new analysis from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information reinforces why preventive dental care is so critical: when people can’t see a dentist for routine care, they often wait until the pain becomes unbearable and end up in the emergency room. But emergency rooms can only treat the symptoms—not the underlying dental problem—making this a more expensive and less effective form of care. The data also show that counties with the fewest Medi-Cal dental providers have the highest rates of emergency room visits for preventable dental conditions, highlighting clear gaps in access to care.

Without action from the Legislature, these challenges are expected to worsen significantly, as proposed cuts to Proposition 56 dental rates—ranging from roughly 40 to 70 percent depending on the service—would further reduce provider participation and limit access to care across the state.

“Forgoing routine care could lead to severe, advanced dental disease progression, and along with a lack of an alternative source of dental care, could result in patients seeking dental care in the emergency department. Although EDs could treat symptoms of these dental conditions, they are not equipped to provide ongoing dental care. Counties with higher rates of ED visits for non-traumatic dental conditions may indicate areas with inadequate access to outpatient dental care.,” the analysis read.

And, Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, found that…”without insurance, a lot of people simply don’t go to the dentist until they have to, and that can be dangerous.”

Save Our Dental Care Coalition urges lawmakers to stop the cuts to Medi-Cal Dental so that California's children, low income families, seniors and millions more have access to teh routine dental care they need and deserve.