by William Lien, WDIO
Having access to dental care is necessary for health and wellness. With the higher costs of living, local dentists say it’s becoming more difficult for people to afford oral healthcare. United Way of Northeastern Minnesota announced their Smiles United Crisis Dental Fund is now closed to non-veterans.
Erin Shay with the United Way of Northeastern Minnesota says this fund was created to help people by providing financial assistance to pay off dental bills, if they didn’t have insurance. Unfortunately, there are no longer enough funds to help the general public. Some of the money available could help people who couldn’t afford anesthesia not covered by insurance.
“We currently have funding available, We can help right now with two additional veterans. We have that small amount of funding left for them,” Shay said. “We’re seeing people coming to our organization looking for support with $3,000, $6,000 bills. It varies. There’s also people who have come in with just that anesthesia amount. Which is just over $600, saying, ‘My insurance will cover this, the procedure itself. But I don’t have the money to cover the anesthesia portion of it.’”