For the past three years, the Seattle Center Foundation and thousands of compassionate volunteers have transformed KeyArena into the Seattle/King County Clinic: a massive popup clinic, providing dental, medical and vision care for thousands of people in need of treatment.
Oral health care has been the most requested service at the four-day clinics, with people traveling throughout the state and lining up for hours to receive care they might not otherwise receive.
Many of the Clinic’s oral health patients have Apple Health coverage, our state’s Medicaid program, but are left with few options due in large part to limited dental care access. In fact, 77 percent of adults with Apple Health coverage did not receive dental care in 2015.
Please urge Olympia lawmakers to support efforts to expand dental care access for those who need it most. Smart investments in dental care, including the Oral Health Connections pilot program, have the potential to improve oral and overall health.
To learn more about the dental access issue, please check out our short film from the 2015 Seattle/King County Clinic.