new report shows what it calls a "dental divide" in the Los Angeles area - finding that only 20% to 25% of people on Medi-Cal actually use their dental benefits.
Adult Medi-Cal recipients get one free exam and cleaning, plus covered dental services worth up to $1,800 a year - or more for medically-necessary care.
Marlyn Pulido - senior research manager with the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, known as C-PEHN - said the difference in usage varies a lot between populations.
"In the Los Angeles data, we see that Asian beneficiaries consistently have the highest utilization across all service types," said Pulido, "while American Indian, Alaska Native, and also our Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander beneficiaries consistently have the lowest utilization."
The report says many people don't realize that Medi-Cal covers dental work.
The state caused a lot of confusion by canceling Medi-Cal's dental coverage for adults several times - reinstating it most recently in 2018.
The report calls on the state to make the adult dental benefits in Medi-Cal permanent.
Ruqayya Ahmad, policy manager at C-PEHN, said finding a provider who accepts Medi-Cal is a challenge - because the state has a major shortage of participating dentists, especially providers of color.
"In 2021, only 21% of the dentists in California were part of the Medi-Cal program," said Ahmad. "And then of the dentists in California, 6% were from a Latino background, and 2% were from the Black community."
Report authors also suggest that California create a program to train and license more dental therapists to offer simple dental care services.
