Sarget Shriver International Global Messenger Martha Hill spoke of the difficulties people with intellectual disabilities face in finding dental care.
Lack of Willing Providers Limits Options for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Martha Hill’s voice cracked with emotion as she spoke at a press conference held in Boise, Idaho, in conjunction with the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. She told the story of her dentist, Dr. Dan Humiston, the only provider in her hometown of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, who treats people with intellectual disabilities on medical assistance programs.
As a Special Olympics athlete and International Global Messenger, Hill helps the movement by speaking for people with intellectual disabilities who often can’t speak for themselves. While she is not on medical assistance herself, Hill has friends who are, and who have had difficulty finding health-care providers willing to help them. The shortage of willing dentists in Sheboygan has even forced group homes there to transport their residents more than an hour away to Marquette University in Milwaukee to receive care.
As a city with an overall population of 50,000, Sheboygan has an estimated 500-1,500 residents with intellectual disabilities. Many, like Hill, have private health insurance through employment or parents, but many others rely on medical assistance. Without access to providers who accept this form of reimbursement, people with intellectual disabilities often go without care.
Shaboygan is not an anomaly. Access to health care is a significant challenge for people with intellectual disabilities, no matter where in the world they live. At dental health screenings held by Special Olympics at the past three World Games, volunteer doctors found that 44 percent had obvious, untreated tooth decay.
Fortunately, there are dentists like Humiston who are willing to treat people with intellectual disabilities.
“He is a very good dentist,” Hill said. “I like going to him. His staff is very nice. They take good care of people whether they have intellectual disability or not.”
Unfortunately, in many places around the globe, providers like Humiston are few and far between. As long as this is the case, people with intellectual disabilities will continue to receive substandard care, or no care at all.