County Dental Programs
Whay aren't county dental programs available in every county in the USA? The short answer is money. The USA dollar does not stretch far enough on the county level to provide funding for individual and fmaily oral care due to priorities.
County governments are unable to assist with personal dental costs in most cases due to prioritizing expenses like street and road maintnenance, trash removal, park services, and local events. County officials are expected to maintain a high level of preofessionalism in these areas.
Should county dental services even be a "thing"? Many taxpayers would say no to the thought of providing dental care to others from their tax dollars and others may not even realize their tax money is being used to subsidize their fellow resident's dental work.
Why Even Have a County?
First of all, let's explore local governents, primarily at the county level. Why even have a county if we have federal, state, and city/town governing factions? As of today, there are apprximately 3200 hundred counties in the USA including 136 county equivalents.
Counties were the earliest type of local government dating back to the thirteen colonies obviously pre-dating the USA. After the birth of the USA, it was Virginia that created the first counties in an attempt to lighten the administrative duties in Jamestown. County governing assisted the states with administrative tasks and grew in popularity due to its effectiveness.
The county government exists as an agent of the state and can enforce only the powers expressly given to them b their respective state government.
This includes all the administrative housekeeping like assessing properties, collecting local property taxes, tracking registered voters and monitoring elections, providing law enforcement and managing the local jail. Recording property records, maintaining roads, disposing of trash, keeping vital statistics, and controlling communicable diseases.
The more populated counties also administer mass transportation, an airport, provide water and sewage disposal, they can manage hospitals, public housing, recreation and cultural programs such as a library.
Any county involvement in dental care would be based on population since some of the larger counties assist with welfare programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Medicaid.
About County Dental
Obviously county dental services depend on the county in which you reside. There are some county dental clinics sponsored by tax dollars that serve adults and children who are uninsured or from low-income households. Families with children enrolled in Medicaid or Healthy Kids are examples of those who would qualify for county assisted dental care when available.
These county dental clinics provide general preventive and restorative care to those without dental insurance or the ability to pay for dental care. Although somewhat rare, these clinics are available depending on locale, but you have to inquire with your county administration. Since local governments primarily focus on non-medical duties, county dental programs may be hard to find unless you do the research yourself.
When County Dental Programs Aren't Available
When county dental programs aren't available in your county of residence, some of the more popular options for free or reduced cost dental care are your next stop.
The low income dental clinic becomes your first and most obvious option.
Next stop would be to check with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS). There are currently three major federally funded dental programs: Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program).
The other suggestion for those searching for dental programs in their county would be your local dental school or dental hygiene school. These tow options can be a great source of high quality, reduced-cost dental care for adults and children.
Finally, your state or local health department may have additional information on dental programs in your area that offer reduced-cost dental care, or in some cases free services. These can be found through your local or state health department. Picking up the telephone and calling these organizations is the best place to start.
Although county dental programs are available in some locations, knowing how to investigate the alternatives is always good practice.
Last Updated: September 17, 2022
About UDE
UDE is a free service designed to help place perspective patients with various oral care providers in close proximity. USA Dental Edge organizes oral care providers primarily by county (or parish when applicable).