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Budget Year / Version:
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Program Description

  Dental Services

This program provides dental services in five clinics to promote oral health. Services include instruction in preventive health practices, primary assessments, targeted dental services, and emergency services. Services are provided to income-eligible Montgomery County children, pregnant women, adults, and seniors.

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Program Contacts

Contact Nina Ashford, DrPH, MPH of the HHS - Public Health Services at 240.777.4253 or Grace Pedersen of the Office of Management and Budget at 240.773.1088 for more information regarding this department's operating budget.

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Program Performance Measures

Program Performance MeasuresActual FY22Actual FY23Estimated FY24Target FY25Target FY26
Number of pediatric dental referrals to outside pediatric specialist 12533405060
Percent of appointments that are missed/cancelled 223%15%30%30%30%
Dental Services - Percent of children that complete their dental treatment plan 330%39%45%50%55%
Number of pediatric encounters seen by pediatric specialist in house (excluding preventive treatment) 41,9332,5443,0003,0003,000
1  The number of pediatric dental referrals to outside pediatric specialists increased from 25 in FY22 to 33 in FY23 (an increase of 32%). Reasons for this include that there were more children in general treated by the dental program overall: 2,237 in FY22 compared to 2,691 in FY23 (an increase of 20%). The program added 0.2 FTE in-house pediatric dentist staff, increasing in-house pediatric dental services to 0.6 FTE. With the end of the Covid pandemic, there are more patients with more severe oral health and medical conditions requiring advanced specialty dental care and children requiring more advanced behavior management than can be provided in-house. This number will more than likely continue to increase as preventative dental services will be provided in MCPS schools this fall and are able to identify more children in need of oral health care.
2  A 30% missed/no show rate is what is expected in dental safety-net clinics. The dental program has been working hard to decrease the number of appointments missed by patients. New front desk staff were hired who are more familiar with the dental industry and are able to complete daily appointment confirmations and patient scheduling more efficiently.
3  The percentage increase is due to the addition of another pediatric dentist providing an additional day of pediatric dental services. Pediatric dental services are now provided 3 days per week.
4  Please note that the pediatric dentists have been performing more atraumatic restorative dental procedures that align with value-based care. This is very different than traditional dentistry as it focuses more on minimally invasive dentistry, preventative treatment, and dental caries management. This approach is recommended in public health dentistry and has become more widely accepted and recommended during Covid. Recent studies suggest this approach has the potential to reduce the number of children requiring operating room services in publicly-funded dental programs.
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Program Budget Changes

FY25 Recommended ChangesExpendituresFTEs
FY24 Approved407913826.00
Enhance: Expand Dental Program to Meet Increased Demand (Offset Medicaid Revenues)8600127.00
Increase Cost: Final Year of Phased Merit Conversion of Previously Contractual Dental Program Staff1107295.00
Multi-program adjustments, including negotiated compensation changes, employee benefit changes, changes due to staff turnover, reorganizations, and other budget changes affecting multiple programs.3916660.00
FY25 Recommended544154538.00