Facing Wisconsin's Critical Dental Crisis for People with IDD
Dec 13, 2021Season 2Episode 8
Lisa Pugh and Dr. Lakisha Arf-Holmes
There is perhaps no issue that people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) struggle with more than dental care.
· State data indicates that 29% of adults with disabilities reported having at least one permanent tooth removed over the past year, and 26% said they had not visited a dentist within the past year.
· Adults with a disability are less likely to visit the dentist for a cleaning, check-up, or exam than people without disabilities (47% and 76%, respectively).
Most people with I/DD rely upon Medicaid for their dental care. Yet only 37% of licensed dentists in WI are available to serve the Medicaid population and 53% of these dentists are listed as either inactive or are not accepting new patients.
Today we talk to a dentist who is trying to make things better. Lakisha Arif-Holmes DDS owns Mayfair Family Dentistry in Wauwatosa. and she takes pride in specializing in treatment to patients of all ages with special healthcare needs, including Autism and people with IDD.
Mayfair Family Dentistry: https://www.mayfairfamdentistry.com/ 414-259-0665 Specialty Care Dentistry Association: https://scda.site-ym.com/
There is perhaps no issue that people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) struggle with more than dental care.
· State data indicates that 29% of adults with disabilities reported having at least one permanent tooth removed over the past year, and 26% said they had not visited a dentist within the past year.
· Adults with a disability are less likely to visit the dentist for a cleaning, check-up, or exam than people without disabilities (47% and 76%, respectively).
Most people with I/DD rely upon Medicaid for their dental care. Yet only 37% of licensed dentists in WI are available to serve the Medicaid population and 53% of these dentists are listed as either inactive or are not accepting new patients.
Today we talk to a dentist who is trying to make things better. Lakisha Arif-Holmes DDS owns Mayfair Family Dentistry in Wauwatosa. and she takes pride in specializing in treatment to patients of all ages with special healthcare needs, including Autism and people with IDD.
Mayfair Family Dentistry: https://www.mayfairfamdentistry.com/ 414-259-0665 Specialty Care Dentistry Association: https://scda.site-ym.com/
Welcome to the arc experience, featuring the stories of self advocates with disabilities and their families from around Wisconsin. Be inspired. Take action. And now for today's episode,
Speaker 2:
Hello and welcome to the arc experience podcast. I am your host, Lisa pew of the arc Wisconsin. This is our last episode for a while. So if you've been a listener, uh, we're just gonna take a pause, but we're leaving you with a really great episode. Uh, today we're talking about out an issue that we get a lot of calls about at the a Wisconsin is actually a very serious issue for people with intellectual developmental disabilities. And that is dental care. It is, is probably something I get more calls about than almost any other issue, because, you know, I just, some brief statistics, the state tells us that almost a third of adults with disabilities reported having at least one permanent tooth removed over the last year. And about a quarter of people with disabilities said they hadn't visited a dentist in the last year. Adults with disabilities are less likely to visit the dentist for basic dental care like cleanings checkups exams than people without dis abilities. That's, you know, 47% versus 76%. Um, it really is a very serious issue today. We are talking to someone who is an expert in this area and also is very concerned about that and wants to help make things better. Dr. Lakeisha a Holmes is a dentist at Mayfair family dentistry in Wawa. Thank you so much for joining us doctor.
Speaker 3:
Well, thank you for having me on Lisa.
Speaker 2:
Well, so I'd like to dig right in, uh, you know, kind of, if you could tell us a little bit about yourself and your practice, and then of course our listeners would like to hear, you know, what is your interest in serving P people with intellectual developmental disabilities?
Speaker 3:
Great. So, um, I've been practicing for almost 13 years in Wisconsin, graduated Marquette university. And, um, when I graduated, I went on to do a general practice residency in Indiana, um, that was geared towards working with, um, special needs patients. So we were able to treat our patients either at our clinic there, or we would take'em to the hospital, um, where they would be sedated under general anesthesia for us to do, um, their dental work. And basically it's just dependent on, um, what their capacity is if they're able to tolerate, um, dental treatment in the office, or if there was quite a bit of dental treatment that needed to be done, um, it was more appropriate to have'em sedated so that we can complete it all at once so that it it's more comfortable for the patient. Um, so I have been at this location for almost four years now. I knew that when I went into practice for myself, that I wanted a, an office that was heavier on treating patient with special healthcare needs is something that's near and dear to my heart. So I knew that that was something that we were gonna incorporate into the office. Um, we recently moved locations, um, in June. And so our office space that we have here now in Wawa, Tulsa, it's set up and it's more so friendly, um, and functioning for our patients that do have special healthcare needs and just having a place where they could just feel comfortable to just be themselves. So in our office, we have what's called a quiet room and essentially what the quiet room is, is what it sounds like. So it's, it's pretty soundproof. Um, and the setup in there is a lot different. So we're able to move over the dental chair if we need to. Um, if all of the carts, uh, where our handpieces are stored, all of those are mobile. So if the patient wants to stand for their dental appointment, they can stand for their dental appointment and we can meet them where they are. They wanna sit on the floor, but we'll meet'em on the floor. We just really want to make that patient feel comfortable here and what, with what we're doing. Um, in addition, we have a, like a sensory room, a calm down room. Um, so if our patients, if they don't really feel that, uh, that comfortable or that they wanna be in the dental room, well, we can always take'em to the calm down room. And, and again, that one is soundproof as well. And it just has a lot of, um, sensory items in there just to be able to help that patient feel comfortable. Um, all of our rooms are able to be dimed, so it's very light accommodating. Um, so when we designed this practice here, it was all with that patient that has, um, disabilities in mind.
Speaker 2:
That's really amazing. And, you know, I, and like I said earlier with the statistics, and I'm sure you're fully aware, there are so many people that lack access to dental care, lots of challenges with getting support for the, this population. Why do you think that is? Why do we have this many challenges? Why am I getting calls from people, looking for a dentist who can take them?
Speaker 3:
I think one of the main challenges is, um, reimbursement. Um, a lot of patients do, they are on state assistance, um, with, you know, Medicaid or through Iris. Um, and so the reimbursement coupled with the amount of time that it might take, um, to make progress with the patient, I think that is the biggest hurdle that we have, um, and why more, um, dentists are not involved in it. And then just the training. Um, not everyone goes on to do like a hospital based residency. And so just having that formal training to be able to increase the access to care for this vulnerable population, that is one of the main issues
Speaker 2:
You said, serving this population is near and dear to your heart. Why is that? How, how do you think that became a passion of yours?
Speaker 3:
Um, you know, I didn't know that it, it was a passion until I thought that I always wanted to do, um, pediatric dentistry and that was something that I always gearing towards and, um, preparing myself for as the next step. But, um, you know, honestly I just really enjoyed, um, being able to have breakthroughs with our patients that have disabilities and, um, being able to just be that person to listen to what the family, what the family's concerns are. And I think that the passion actually started when I was younger, like sixth grade. I remember that I was part of a tutoring program and, um, the room that I was assigned to was the special education room. And so just being able to be in that room, you know, two to three time times a week and typing braille for the kiddos in the class, it was, it was amazing. And so that just helped to make an impact on me. And I knew that, um, serving others was something that I always wanted to do. And I know that this population, they really need a lot of help and they need, um, a person that is compassionate about helping them and treat them impatient.
Speaker 2:
I can tell you that there are a lot of people listening to this right now that this is music to their ears. You know, people who are very desperate that have gone without dental care and that live with pain or struggle are loved ones who have pain and just have some people driving hours to find a dentist. So I think, I will say for all of the people listening, just thank you for your interest and commitment to that, you know, and part of the work that we do at the arc Wisconsin is about how do we change some of these systemic problems that make it so difficult for people? What if you could have a magic wand, what would, what would you do to make things better?
Speaker 3:
Um, so there is exciting news. I know that Marquette, they have a great organization there, it's the student chapter of the special care dentistry association. Um, they're just true champ ends for treating, um, patients that have special healthcare needs. And because of that, um, they've kind of advocated to the school that they want more training with treating patients that have special healthcare needs. So I know that Marquette is, um, in the next few years that they are gonna put more money towards training the proper training to train the students so that when they come out, they feel good about treating this population. So that's exciting. It's just, it's gonna take some time. The other part is just advocating, advocating, um, to the state, um, for higher reimbursement for, um, practitioners who do treat, um, patients that have special healthcare needs, cuz sometimes like, um, you might not get anywhere in that appointment and it might take another appointment to just continue desensitizing the patient. And so just having these proper things in, in place so that you can make it, um, to be able to keep the lights on and pay bills for your office. So that's where it starts from.
Speaker 2:
Thank you for that. What, what advice do you have for those families or individuals who are really, you know, struggling to find help? What, what, what can they do?
Speaker 3:
Um, I would, you know, search the special care dentistry association website, um, that's S CDA online.org. Um, they do have resources, uh, for parents to be able to help with at home care. And there's also a resource button on there to search for dentists in your area. Um, we are also here to be able to help, so feel free to give us a call. Um, and that's, that's it.
Speaker 2:
Sure. Thank you. Um, well how do we get into contact with you? Let's make sure we have that information.
Speaker 3:
All right. So, uh, families can feel free to just Google Mayfair, family dentistry in Wawa, Tulsa, um, or give us a call at(414) 259-0665.
Speaker 2:
Okay. I will make sure I have all that information in the show notes for people to follow up with you, cuz I'm guessing you're gonna get a lot of contacts after people hear this podcast, but thank you so much for your work. Are there any parting thoughts you have for people that are listening to what we talked about today?
Speaker 3:
Um, just making sure to keep calling, keep advocating for your child to be seen. Um, there are dentists out there. It's not many of us that do what we do, but there are some in the state of Wisconsin and I'm just really optimistic in the next few years that it's gonna really, um, be a change in the state. So there will be more providers that'll be able to provide that access.
Speaker 2:
That's really good news. Thank you so much for sharing that. And thank you for joining us on the podcast today.<inaudible> thank you for, to our listeners for listening to the arc experience podcast. I mentioned at the beginning of that podcast, we're pausing the podcast series for a bit, but please keep in touch, check back regularly for new episodes and as always make sure to like share and to subscribe until next time
Speaker 1:
Today's episode of the, a experience was brought to you by the arc Wisconsin, the state's oldest advocacy organization for people with intellectual developmental disabilities and their families it's funded in part by the Wisconsin board for people with developmental disabilities. Our theme music called species is the property of E Y five Z. It cannot be copied or distributed without permission. It was produced by Eleanor chum, a composer and artist with autism.
