How to Find a Dentist with Medicare or Medicaid

Medicare and Medicaid are two government programs that are a great help to senior citizens, disabled people or anyone suffering financially that needs dental work. However, while these programs will pay your dental bills if you qualify, they also make it a little more difficult to find a dentist. Since only certain dentists accept Medicare and Medicaid as payment, you’re going to need to know where to look to find the right dentist for you.

Find out if Medicare or Medicaid covers the dental care you need. (See References) Log onto the Health and Human Services website and use either your ID number or search by state for a list of covered services. There is an option to search for specific dental procedures. Generally, Medicare and Medicaid will pay for dental services as part of a larger medical procedure, for example, dental work when someone breaks their jaw. They will rarely pay for simple examinations and will not cover cosmetic dental work.

Find a provider by visiting the Medicare/Medicaid website. (See Resources) Click the link that says “Find a Physician.” It will take you to another page, where you can search for a physician by zip code, city, state, county or last name. Click “Continue” when you have chosen the option you want to search by.

Select “Dentistry” as the specialty group on the next page. From here, choose what type of work you need done. On the page following that, click the circle beside “Participating physicians” and then select a gender preference for the dentist if you have one.

Choose a dentist from the list provided and call to make an appointment. Make sure to tell them that you receive help from Medicare or Medicaid, and ask if the service you are seeking is provided and covered.