The Red Bird Clinic in Beverly, Ky., has several strategies to provide dental care to rural communities in need of care, CBS affiliate WKYT reported Jan. 20.
The state's Appalachian region is largely made up of Medicaid patients, the news station reported. Twenty-six of Kentucky's 54 Appalachian counties have a shortage of dental care because of low Medicaid reimbursements.
Bill Collins, DMD, the clinic's dental director, told the news station his clinic serves rural patients from Bell, Clay and Leslie counties.
The clinic uses a sliding scale to help patients afford care. It has also partnered with University of Louisville (Ky.) School of Dentistry to staff its clinic with dental students.
The clinic also equipped itself with new technology to better serve patients, including digital denture devices, a radiographic machine for better implant placement and a portable dental unit for its mobile clinical services, according to the report. A partnership with Delta Dental of Kentucky has provided the clinic $100,000 each year for the past three years.