Voices of U of U Health
How Expanded Medicaid Dental Coverage Is Improving Oral Health in Utah
By James Bekker, DMD, and Heidi Iongi, DMD, MPH
When Lindy was coming out of addiction, her mouth was in rough shape. She was embarrassed to smile, but even more difficult was the constant pain that weighed on her every day.
Five of Lindy’s teeth had broken off at the root, leaving exposed nerves. She knew she needed treatment, but as a single mother of three, she didn’t have the money to get the oral care she needed.
Through her recovery program, she was referred to the University of Utah School of Dentistry. Because she qualified for adult Medicaid, we were able to relieve her pain and rebuild her smile.
The impact went far beyond Lindy’s oral health. She says the kindness she experienced throughout her dental care made her feel like part of a family. Her restored smile gave her new confidence during a job interview and allowed her children to see her happiness in a way they hadn’t before.
A New Model for Expanding Access to Oral Health
Lindy’s experience reflects a much larger change in access to oral health care across Utah.
For the past nine years, a partnership between Utah Medicaid at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services and the School of Dentistry has expanded dental care for Medicaid members. The effort began with patients undergoing treatment for substance use disorder, blind and disabled individuals, and adults aged 65 and older.
In April 2025, with support from the Utah Legislature and the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, comprehensive dental benefits were expanded to all adults enrolled in Utah Medicaid. This partnership between a state school and a state program is attracting national attention as a new model for delivering quality dental care to Medicaid members.
The expansion has made an essential health care service available for tens of thousands of Utahns.
Restoring oral health for these patients often requires several months of treatment. During that time, we can address oral disease and help patients regain function and comfort. For many, the effects extend to their confidence and quality of life.
Oral health also affects overall health. Untreated conditions such as periodontitis, or gum disease, can interact with chronic conditions like diabetes, making both more difficult to manage.
Many patients have also lost teeth without access to replacement options, limiting their ability to eat nutritious foods, such as raw fruits and vegetables. Others arrive embarrassed about their oral health or with significant dental anxiety because previous dental visits were associated with pain or urgent treatment.
Preventive Dental Care Through Medicaid
Expanded coverage also gives us an opportunity to change what dental care looks like for patients over the long term.
Across the University of Utah School of Dentistry’s 10 clinical sites, including our Mobile Dental Clinic, and through more than 500 affiliated providers statewide, we can educate patients about preventive services available through their Medicaid benefits. These include routine examinations, dental cleanings, and fluoride treatments.
For people accustomed to regular dental care, these services might be easy to take for granted. But for patients who have gone without coverage, routine visits may not have been an option. We can help them begin receiving regular checkups so problems can be identified and treated earlier, before they cause severe pain, more extensive treatments, and loss of function.
And for pregnant women, Utah’s transition to a single Medicaid dental delivery network, effective July 1, 2026, can improve the continuity of their care even further. Supported by the Utah Legislature, this change means women can continue to receive preventive and restorative services through their established dental home during pregnancy and beyond.
One Medicaid Dental System for Utah
The collaboration between the Utah Department of Health and Human Services and the School of Dentistry is now entering another important chapter.
With children and pregnant women moving from a managed care structure to the same fee-for-service structure used for adults, dentists throughout Utah can work within one system when providing Medicaid dental care. For families, that means household members can receive care through the same delivery system rather than navigating different structures.
The change also simplifies administration for providers and eliminates managed care administrative costs, creating financial savings for the state of Utah.
This evolution gives us an opportunity to make Utah’s Medicaid dental system easier to navigate and more accessible. Most importantly, it can help more Utahns like Lindy establish consistent access to the oral health care they need.
