By Chandler Inions

chandler.inions@salisburypost.com

The Delta Dental Foundation (DDF), the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of North Carolina (DDNC), recently awarded $157,768 in cash and in-kind contributions to 39 North Carolina nonprofits under the Smiles for Kids program, including the Rowan County Department of Public Health.

Rowan County Public Health received $5,000 to help 35 children gain access to dental services. Dunia Arvizu is dental office supervisor V for The Smile Center at the health department. 

In an email, Arvizu said that the patients will be both pre-natal mothers and children who are uninsured or under-insured and would not otherwise receive this care. 

“There is a direct connection between maternal oral health and low birth weight as well as other negative health impacts on newborn babies,” Arvizu said. “In addition, dental care is an important part of a child’s overall health and well-being. Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease in children but is almost entirely preventable. Oral health issues can cause pain that makes it hard for children to eat, sleep, play and function at school.”

The grant will cover cleanings, exams, x-rays, fillings and full-mouth debridement. Patients are selected on an as-needed/first-come-first-served basis.

According to the 2024 Rowan County NC Child Health Data Card located on Rowan County Public Health’s website, 50.1 percent of children live in poor or low-income homes. Meanwhile, 22.9 percent of children are living in households with food insecurities and the median family income is $59,717. 

“I would say this gives us a good snapshot that access to dental health is a barrier for quite a few of our Rowan County children,” Arvizu said. “Access to dental health is a significant barrier for many children in Rowan County, especially those from low-income families who rely on Medicaid for their care.”

According to recent information presented during the 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment process, Rowan County is experiencing a shortage of dental providers who accept Medicaid. Currently, only 14 dental providers in the county accept North Carolina Medicaid, and of those, only seven are accepting new Medicaid patients. 

“Even when families are able to find a provider, the typical wait time for a first appointment is around six months — a considerable delay for children experiencing dental pain or other urgent issues,” Arvizu said. 

The dental office supervisor indicated that this lack of access is mostly because Medicaid doesn’t reimburse dentists enough to cover the actual cost of care and that the rates Medicaid pays haven’t gone up since 2008, even though the cost of running a dental office has gotten much higher. 

“As a result, many dental providers simply cannot afford to accept Medicaid patients,” Arvizu said. “This contributes to Rowan County being designated a health professional shortage area specifically for dental care for low-income populations, which includes a large number of children.”

Due to these challenges, about 31 percent of Medicaid recipients in Rowan County — including many children — are unable to secure needed dental care. 

“This lack of access can have serious consequences, including missed school hours due to dental pain, poor academic performance and long-term health impacts from untreated dental disease,” Arvizu said. “Safety net dental clinics in Rowan County, such as those operating on a sliding fee scale or offering free care, help address some of the needs, but these clinics alone cannot fully meet the demand.” 

According to Arvizu, with approximately 49 percent of Rowan County residents lacking any form of dental insurance, cost remains one of the most significant barriers to care, especially for low-income families.

“Unless changes are made to improve Medicaid reimbursement rates or increase the number of providers willing to accept Medicaid, dental care will continue to be a major barrier for many children in Rowan County,” Arvizu said. 

Delta Dental NC President and CEO Curt Ladig added in a press release that “nearly one in five North Carolina kindergartners have untreated tooth decay, and that is the highest incident rate we’ve seen in five years. Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease, and we hope this year’s grants will provide more access to dental services and oral health education for children who may not otherwise have it. After all, everyone deserves a healthy smile.”

Through the Smiles for Kids program, the Delta Dental Foundation strives to educate the public on the importance of preventative oral health care and to help fund initiatives and programs designed to promote children’s oral health. Smiles for Kids supports safety-net dental clinics and North Carolina nonprofits, which provide critical dental services and education to local residents, especially to children in systemically disadvantaged areas.

This year, DDNC focused on making it easy for western North Carolina to access Smiles for Kids by simplifying the application for funding and personally reaching out to partners in the areas impacted by Hurricane Helene to assist them with the process, resulting in four grants totaling $20,000.

Since the inception of the program in 2011, the DDF has invested more than $1 million through the program, which has touched the lives of more than 500,000 children and families in more than half of North Carolina counties.