Affordable Care Act brings many Central Oregonians to dentist

Since January 2014, the Oregon Health Plan reports that almost half a million people have signed up for the state’s version of Medicaid. The Affordable Care Act has meant a massive influx of patients for dental clinics.

Advantage Dental Clinics, based in Redmond, runs clinics across the state. Their patients are Medicaid users and the uninsured.

Advantage CEO Mike Shirtcliff says it’s been a huge adjustment.

“We went from 32,000 to 50,000 in one year,” Shirtcliff said.

Advantage’s new clinic in La Pine couldn’t have opened its doors at a better time, around the same time ACA began.

“We were definitely surprised at the beginning,” Dr. Sean Sherry said. “It was quite a backlog trying to get people in and get started.”

La Pine resident Loriann Landles had gone without insurance since 2009.

“I was like, ‘OK, let’s get our teeth cleaned!” Landles recalled, reacting to learning she could get insured.

Landles is one of 3,000 patients this rural clinic sees. There are two dentists who work alternate shifts to take care of all of them.

Sherry said a clinic of comparable size usually sees around 1,500 patients.

“Low-income people haven’t been to the dentist for a long time,” Shirtcliff said, “so a lot of teeth are getting infected and a lot of dentures are getting made.”

While Landles has only recently been able to start seeing a dentist again, she’s made sure her children have never gone without dental care — and wouldn’t choose to.

“I’ve worked really hard with all my kids to make sure their first dental visit was, like, fun,” she said.

Fun — and more accessible for those patients who otherwise would go without.