Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024
A. The Commissioner of Human Services will
designate a Dental Care Analysis Area (DCAA) as underserved if it meets the
following criteria:
1. The DCAA has a
population to dentist ratio of 4000:1 or greater; and,
2. The contiguous area dental care resources
are overutilized or excessively distant from the population of the DCAA that is
being considered for underserved designation.
a Contiguous area dental care resources will
be considered overutilized if the population to dentist ratio of the contiguous
area is 2500:1 or greater.
b
Contiguous area dental care resources will be considered excessively distant if
those dental care providers are located more than 20 miles by secondary roads,
25 miles by primary roads or 30 miles by interstate/turnpike highways from the
center of the DCAA being considered for designation as a dental care
underserved area.
B. The Commissioner of Human Services may
designate a Dental Care Analysis Area as underserved if it has a population to
dentist ratio between 3000:1 and 3999:1, if, in his judgment, other factors
indicate that the area in question is underserved. Those other factors my
include, but not be limited to:
1 More than
50% of the population of the DCAA being considered for designation does not
have access to publicly fluoridated water supplies.
2 More than 3,000 visits per year per FTE
dentist serving the area.
3
Unusually long waits for appointments for routine dental services, i.e., more
than 6 weeks.
4 A substantial
proportion (2/3 or more) of the area's dentists do mot accept new
patients.
C. The
Commissioner of Human Services will consider special area designations on a
case by case basis and at the request of community representatives. If either
of the following criteria are met:
1
Designation of an underserved dental area to a half-time site due to its small
population, (i.e., fewer than 2000 people). A Compact student wishing to earn
lost forgiveness say do so upon approval by the Commissioner of Educational and
Cultural Services and by agreeing to establish a practice in the half-time area
and by doubling the length of stay in that underserved area. Under this option,
the Compact dental practitioner would be expected to provide dental care
services for at least two days per week with the hours totaling at least 16 per
week in the underserved DCAA. The remaining practice time could be spent in a
non-designated area.
2 Designation
of two DCAAs as one-practice site if neither area, when considered alone, has
sufficient population base (i.e., fewer than 2,000 people) to support a dental
practice and if the combined areas meet the designation criteria of Section 3A.
D. The Commissioner of
Human Services may designate certain population groups as being underserved
providing the population in question is suffering from a lack of access to
dental health care services. Population group designations may include, but not
be limited to:
1 institutional
populations;
2 Populations affected
by social, economic or demographic barriers.
