Children’s Wisconsin and
Delta Dental have raised $1.7 million to expand dental care for pediatric patients with special needs.
In a press release issued this week, Children’s Wisconsin announced that it had raised $700,000 as part of its Healthy Smiles Healthy Kids Challenge and would be using the funds to meet a challenge grant created by Delta Dental of Wisconsin Foundation.
The $700,000 will now be combined with a $1 million commitment by the Oak Brook, Illinois-based dental insurer, supporting, among other things, the creation of a brand-new dental office on the Children’s Wisconsin campus in Wauwatosa, which will go from 13 existing exam chairs to 19.
The new space will include a low-sensory waiting area and exam rooms. Low lighting, soft design, and attention to sensory details, such as the spacing of chairs, textures of materials, calming music and minimalistic design, will offer patients and families an escape from the sensory overload of the larger reception area, a press release states. Clinic staff will also receive training to support special needs patients and their families.
A portion of Delta Dental’s commitment will also support the expansion of Children’s Wisconsin pediatric dental residency program, allowing the program to provide more dental procedures than is currently possible, according to the release.
Children’s Wisconsin is the only program in the state that provides a pediatric dental residency rotation. It is one of the largest providers of pediatric dental care for vulnerable populations in the state, seeing approximately 22,000 visits every year across four locations. More than 90% of those who receive dental care at Children’s Wisconsin are covered through Medicaid. Many of those patients are kids with special medical needs or a disability.
“It means a lot to us that we can work with Children’s Wisconsin to help expand dental services, especially to kids who are in the most need,” said Dennis Peterson, president of the Delta Dental of Wisconsin Foundation. “Beyond the expansion of the physical space, we are also excited to see more future dentists, committed to the oral health of kids, get trained right here in Wisconsin.”
As one of only a few dental programs serving the region’s most vulnerable kids, as many as 4,000 new patients are waiting for appointments via Children’s dental program.
“The need for dental care is great, particularly for kids and families with special medical needs or who are covered by Medicaid,” said Lori Barbeau, DDS, medical director of the Children’s Wisconsin Dental Center. “We’re so grateful to the Delta Dental of Wisconsin Foundation for partnering with Children’s so we can serve even more patients who need us.”
Work on the new clinic is expected to start at the end of 2023, with the new space opening to patients in 2025.
Children’s Wisconsin Dental Center provides services at four locations. In addition to the space on the Milwaukee campus, the program provides services at the Children’s Wisconsin Forest Home, Midtown and Next Door clinics.
