Judy Donagrandi feels dental health is vital to general health. Especially for those with physical and mental limitations.
This Clarkston mother of two young adults with developmental disabilities has teamed with local special education teachers to lobby for improved dental services and coverage for handicapped individuals.
Donagrandi , with the help of Mary Barnard, a Clarkston Post-High teacher for cognitively impaired young adults, and Barbara Greenstone, a Clarkston Post High teacher for autistically impaired young adults, comprised a letter urging dentists and hygienists in north Oakland County and surrounding areas to provide free preventative dental care for special needs people.
“These are a group of people who don’t clean teeth well, number one,” Donagrandi said. “And number two, they are on medications that can cause gingivitis and other oral problems.”
Barnard, who has taught special needs students for five years, said out of 15 in her class, only one or two don’t have major dental needs.
The problem is finding a dentist that accepts Medicaid patients, Mary Jo Hollebrands said, a registered nurse and nursing supervisor at Macomb Oakland Regional Center (MORC), a nonprofit, private human services agency providing support and respite care to more than 4,500 people with a variety of disabilities. Donagrandi hooked up with Hollebrands after reading an MORC public service announcement in a newspaper asking for dental professionals to donate their time and services.
“What dentists get in return from Medicaid is very little,” she said. For example, a hygienist making $30 an hour, normally, would really only make half that with Medicaid. On top of that, the Medicaid billing process is difficult and many don’t want to be bothered by it, Hollebrands said.
Many special needs patients also must go under general anesthesia for dental work, and Hollebrands said it is even more difficult to find a dentist that will do this.
Earlier this year Donagrandi’s 25-year-old daughter, Danielle, who is mentally impaired and nonverbal, needed extensive dental work. Danielle has a difficult time sitting in a dentist’s chair and is terrified by the dentist. To successfully work on Danielle’s teeth, she must receive anesthesia and be worked on at a hospital.
It took four months for the Donagrandis to find a dentist willing to work on Danielle. A pediatric dentist in Pontiac eventually helped Danielle. He was one of two Donagrandi could find with hospital ties. The other refused the Donagrandis, insisting he only take Macomb County residents.
Greenstone said one of her students recently needed a root canal. The student, Greenstone described as very aggressive, must be sedated before a dental procedure. A Brandon Township resident, the student finally was able to have a root canal performed at the University of Detroit.
“It’s a little of our jurisdiction to do that,” Greenstone said, who has worked in special education since 1990.
But this is the norm for special needs people, Donagrandi said.
“Oakland County is not only one of the wealthiest counties in Michigan, it’s one of the wealthiest counties in the country. Why these people can’t get good dental care, doesn’t make sense,” Donagrandi said.
For Danielle’s care, in the end, the cost was well above what Medicaid would cover. Medicaid covers two cleanings a year as well as the cost of extractions and fillings, Hollebrands said. (The ideal is four cleanings a year.)
Both Danielle, and her 23-year-old brother, Louis, rely on social security and Medicaid for their income and health insurance. But recent local budget cuts and a state budget crisis have left many disabled individuals unable to afford the dental care they need.
Between Donagrandi and MORC’s efforts, eight hygienists have volunteered their time, but Hollebrands said no dentists have volunteered and equipment and a facility are still needed. Hollebrands noted the charitable work is tax deductible.
“I want to see Medicaid cover more services,” Donagrandi said. “I also would like to know people are getting the dental care they are needing, whether they’re my kids or someone else’s. I will fight tooth and nail to get what my kids need.”
Barnard feels there could be more progress for the cause if more parents were to get involved.
“It’s a fight for everybody,” Donagrandi said. “These are people who can’t really fight their own battles. They need people to advocate for them.”
Dentists and dental hygienists willing to provide free dental cleanings or to “adopt” a person with dental needs can call Mary Jo Hollebrands at MORC at (586) 263-8769.