Cavity kids: Poor Sacramento children have low access to dental care

Almost two decades ago, the state made Sacramento County the testing ground for a new model of delivering dental care to poor children. Officials envisioned a managed care system that would control costs and improve children’s ability to see a dentist. Today that model persists – but state data shows that the county has consistently produced one of California’s worst records for care. In 2010, only 30 percent of more than 110,000 Sacramento children with Medi-Cal – the government insurance program for the poor – saw a dentist, according to state data. By comparison, nearly half of their Medi-Cal peers statewide visited a dental office. That year, the county ranked third worst in terms of the percentage of kids who got care - above only rural Alpine and Trinity counties. During the three previous years, it was the state's lowest performing children's dental system, state numbers show.