Our story

Delta Dental improves the oral health of millions through public-private partnerships that benefit Medicaid members who need dental care. We work with state partners, health plan partners and client organizations to provide exceptional dental solutions and expand care for their most vulnerable populations.

We have served Medicaid members for more than 20 years in Michigan, and commercial members for more than 60 years, and are committed to promoting health equity and enhancing the lives of our members in the communities nationwide.

We entered the Medicaid dental benefit space in 2000, when we partnered with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to create a program to help improve the dental health of children. With support from the Michigan Dental Association, this public-private partnership serves children from infancy through age 21 and became known as Healthy Kids Dental (HKD).

Today, that program has expanded to all 83 of Michigan’s counties – giving 1.1 million children children access to regular dental care. Delta Dental administers benefits for more than 815,000 of those members.

Delta Dental’s dedicated care coordinators prioritize targeted outreach. In addition to new member screening and risk assessment, they continually reach out to non-utilizer members or their parents/guardians to help them better understand the benefits available to the member and address any barriers to care.

During a routine outreach call to remind members of their dental benefits through Healthy Kids Dental, a Michigan Managed Care Medicaid program for youth up to age 21, we met a mom whose teenage daughter was complaining of a toothache. Her daughter normally receives dental care from a school clinic, but that wasn’t an option in the summer, and the family didn’t have another dentist or transportation to get to one.

The Delta Dental care coordinator quickly connected the mother with My Community Dental Centers to schedule a dental appointment for her daughter, and then arranged a ride for them through Alpha Medic Transportation.

Thanks to quick action and a few three-way calls, this mother’s worry was relieved and her daughter was soon on her way to get an important dental check-up.