Donated Dental Arizona
AHCCCS No Longer Pays for Emergency Tooth Pulling
There is no Arizona Medicaid coverage for emergency dental care for adults - not even a simple tooth extraction for a abscessed tooth. Penny wise and dollar foolish - an uninsured adult in desperation goes to the hospital emergency room when the untreated tooth abscess weakens the body's immune system and becomes life-threatening.
A very basic and simple tooth pull becomes an expensive medical bill paid for by the state of Arizona and therefore more money is being spent - not saved. Draconian budget cuts cost more for Arizona in the end.
An abscessed tooth is a pus filled infection of the mouth than needs to be pulled out and if left untreated - those with compromised immune systems may develop life-threatening medical problems. Seaberg, Tennessee College of Medicine dean said " The uninsured are often probably sicker when they go in, because they do wait to see a doctor ."[A]
Marvin wrote " Last week, i had a patient with an infected wisdom tooth, it was about to obstruct his airway....We had to emergently intubate him.
Bad buccal hygiene, so can any kind of teeth infection. can lead to endocarditis also, that is a heart infection. How bad is that!!! "[B]
AHCCCS has cut off emergency tooth extraction coverage since October 31, 2010. Arizona AHCCCS covers services are " only those required by federal law. As a result, AHCCCS enrollees would no longer receive benefits such as emergency dental services ."[C] On April Fool's Day 2011, AHCCCS will reduce payments of covered services by 5%.
What does an uninsured person do in a dental emergency?
Going to Mexico for cheap dental work is the borderlands option for those with transportation and the proper documents to re-enter the United States. For the rest of the uninsured there are few options.
Reduced Fee and AHCCCS Dental Clinics in Arizona is sponsored by the Donated Dental Services Arizona Dental Foundation but the waiting list is three years and unable to respond quickly enough to emergency dental extractions. Eligibility is limited to over 65 or are on SSDI," or are medically compromised (i.e., transplant waiting lists), and lack adequate income to pay for needed dental care or have no dental insurance. " [D]
General Dental located in Sierra Vista, AZ gives a $30 discount on emergency extractions for those under AHCCCS. They charge $90 for an emergency tooth extraction instead of $120. Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc in Elfrida, AZ has sliding scale fees but won't give prices over the phone.
The following dental schools may have clinics where students are able to practice basic tooth care.
Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health • Mesa • 480-219-6000 www.atsu.edu
Midwestern University • Phoenix • 623-572-3800 www.midwestern.edu
Arizona State University (ASU) • Tempe • 480-965-9011 www.asu.edu
University of Arizona (UofA) • Tucson • 520-626-7241 www.arizona.edu
Dave Pratt Dental Clinic in Phoenix, AZ (602) 271-9961services uninsured children only.
References
[A]Health Insurance "Health Insurance Uninsured Drive Up Hospital Costs" 10.06.2010
[B]Marvin, "If a tooth abscess goes untreated, what damage can it do?" 2006
[C] FY 2011 Budget Fact Sheet/3, "Optional AHCCCS Services " 02.2010
[D] Donated Dental Services, " application" 05.26.2006
Smoky Mountain Urgent Care, "Treatment For Dental Abscess (Tooth Infection)"12. 22.2010
Dental Health Magazine Staff, "Abscessed Tooth Complications and Dangers" 6.27.2008
Palmeri & Wechsler, "Medicaid Pushes U.S. States Off 'Cliff' as Governors Seek Cuts" 12.21.2010
Nephew of Bootsy Collins Dies of Tooth Infection: Could Not Afford Medicine
The 24-year-old nephew of musician Bootsy Collins has died at the University Hospital in Cincinnati after a tooth infection spread to his brain.
March 2015 UPDATE Tucson Area
Health Net GOLD Benefits $50/month that covers major dental work.
Health Net Ruby 4 (HMO) for those on Medicare Part D has two optional additional coverages. The Gold option covers advanced periodontal disease treatment. Out of the list of so-called 39 periodontists, I have arranged below by name that practice in several offices. Not having a steady office is a sign that the periodontist is not so good.
Although I now have dental insurance that advanced periodontal disease treatment covers periodontics, the choices are not so good for me since none that are in-network for Health Net Ruby 4 (HMO) Gold Benefits are within 70 miles of where I live. The list of periodontists are all in Tucson. I looked up each and every one on the Arizona Board of Dental Examiners for any complaints. Then I looked for consumer driven reviews. I hope this list helps in your decision as to which periodontist to go to.
Scale is 1 to 5 with 5 being the best as in a 5 star rating.
There are no disciplinary actions Rating: 5 - 33 votes BUT it was more on Dr. Krivitsky (husband/wife team), IN LOS ANGELES and not in Tucson
21 AALAM, ALEXANDERE AN ELEGANT SMILE DENTISTRY
30 AALAM, ALEXANDERE (no office)
36 AALAM, ALEXANDERE AN ELEGANT SMILE DENTISTRY
There are no disciplinary actions Rating: 5 - 2 votes
18 CAPPS, JOSEPH W. BROADWAY SMILES DENTISTRY & ORTHODONTICS
33 CAPPS, JOSEPH W.ORACLE MODERN DENTISTRY & ORTHODONTICS
There are no disciplinary actions Rating: 4.5 12 votes
27 D'ANIELLO, JOSEPH N. (no office)
There are no disciplinary actions Rating: 4.5 - 4 votes
9 POIDMORE, KHRISTI R. VALLEAALAM*Y ENDODONTIC SPECIALTY GROUP
There are no disciplinary actions Rating: 4.5 - 2 votes
17 BECKER, WILLIAM (no office)
There are no disciplinary actions NO RATINGS FOUND
4 ADASHEK, SCOTT D. VALLEY ENDODONTIC SPECIALTY GROUP
16 ADASHEK, SCOTT D. (no office)
31 ADASHEK, SCOTT D. AN ELEGANT SMILE DENTISTRY
37 ADASHEK, SCOTT D. AN ELEGANT SMILE DENTISTRY
23 ADASHEK, SCOTT D. AN ELEGANT SMILE DENTISTRY
There are no disciplinary actions NO RATINGS FOUND
7 ISKANDAR, IRMA WESTERN DENTAL BROADWAY
26 ISKANDAR, IRMA PERFECT TEETH
29 ISKANDAR, IRMA PERFECT TEETH - ABC PC
34 ISKANDAR, IRMA WESTERN DENTALRating:
There are no disciplinary actions NO RATINGS FOUND
8 LEE, SUNG JONATHAN WESTERN DENTAL BROADWAY
38 LEE, SUNG JONATHAN SURGICAL CENTER FOR PERIODONTICS & IMPLANT
There are no disciplinary actions SINGLE RECOMMENDATION ON WEBSITE
5 BERNARD, GARY F. WESTERN DENTAL BROADWAY
32 BERNARD, GARY F. WESTERN DENTAL
There are no disciplinary actions Rating: 3.8 - 6 votes
1 MATA, XAVIER A. - RITA RANCH DENTAL GROUP & ORTHONDONTICS
3 MATA, XAVIER A. SAHUARITA MODERN DENTISTRY & ORTHODONTICS
15 MATA, XAVIER A. SABINO SMILES AND ORTHODONTICS
There are no disciplinary actions Rating: 3.5 - 3 votes
10 UNGER, ERIK M. WESTERN DENTAL BROADWAY
35 UNGER, ERIK M.WESTERN DENTAL
There are no disciplinary actions Rating: 3.5 - 2 votes
6 GOLOB-DEEB, JANINA G. VALLEY ENDODONTIC SPECIALTY GROUP
13 GOLOB-DEEB, JANINA G.GENTLE DENTAL TRI POINTE
There are no disciplinary actions Rating: 2.5 - 2 votes/Rating: 1 - 2 votes
11 DEEB, GEORGE E. GENTLE DENTAL TRI POINTE
12 DEEB, GEORGE E. SOUTHERN ARIZONA DENTAL SPECIALTIES
19 DEEB, GEORGE E. GENTLE DENTAL BROADWAY 5311 E BROADWAY BLVD
There are no disciplinary actions NO RATINGS FOUND
20 DEEB, JANINA G. GENTLE DENTAL BROADWAY 5311 E BROADWAY BLVD
There are no disciplinary actions RATING = 1 - 1 vote
22 DEEB, ANDREW E. PERFECT TEETH
24 DEEB, ANDREW E. ANDREW E DEEB DMD MS
28 DEEB, ANDREW E. PERFECT TEETH
COMPLAINT Arizona Board of Dental Examiners: consent agreement
25 HONIGMAN, ALLEN S.AN ELEGANT SMILE DENTISTRY
COMPLAINT Arizona Board of Dental Examiners: $8,000 restitution payment
2 MADI, SHAHIN SAHUARITA MODERN DENTISTRY & ORTHODONTICS
39 MADI, SHAHIN ORACLE SMILE DENTAL GROUP
14 MADI, SHAHIN SABINO SMILES AND ORTHODONTICS
