Why dentists shun Medicaid: impact on children, especially children with special needs.

The Medicaid dental program was established to ensure that needed dental services were obtainable for poor children and adults. General Accounting Office reports and related studies, however, provided a detailed review of the consequences of the economic limitations on the effectiveness of this program. Emphasis in this review was placed on the reluctance of dental practitioners to participate, the resultant limited use of dental services, and the particular problems of youngsters with special health care needs.