Serving Rural Communities, Coping with Medicaid Cuts, and Having a Successful Practice: Case Studies from Oregon and Northern New England

Background Medicaid dental programs face potential challenges with anticipated federal funding cuts. Traditional fee-for-service models have struggled to serve all Medicaid populations effectively.Case Description This case study examines two successful dental practice models serving Medicaid populations: Equity Dental in Oregon operating under capitation-based care for 65,000 enrollees across 15 counties, and Montshire Pediatric Dentistry serving 28,000 children across Northern New England, 59% of whom are Medicaid enrollees. Both practices provide minimally invasive dentistry and medical management of dental caries as core strategies.