The number of dentists who participate in Texas Medicaid dropped last year, the first time in at least a decade.
Earlier similar request in 2016
This revelation comes from a spreadsheet compiled by Texas Health and Human Services responsive to an open record request from TDMR. TDMR made a similar request in 2016 and wanted to get the latest statistics on dentist participation.
The new data shows that in 2018 the total number of dentists in Texas Medicaid declined from 7,174 in 2017 to 7,014.
This is not a large drop but it is the first time that the annual participation numbers have gone down since 2008, the earliest year for which the information was requested.
Went up despite controversy
In fact, despite all the controversy regarding orthodontia and allegations of dental Medicaid fraud over the last seven years, the number of dentists involved in Medicaid exploded from 2,919 in 2008 to a high of 7,174 in 2017.
At this time, we have no explanation for the slightly reduced numbers.