Many states are expanding their Medicaid programs to provide dental care to their poorest residents

By MICHAEL CASEY
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A growing number of states are offering dental care to low-income adults who once had to rely on charity or the emergency room to treat their tooth problems. From Tennessee to Maine, lawmakers have agreed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars so adults on Medicaid, the federal health program, can get dental care. The federal government doesn’t require that states provide such care. But state lawmakers have come to embrace the idea that expanded oral care saves money and has other health benefits. Nearly 30 states have begun offering or expanded care in the past three years.