General Info for Dentists
Participating Dentists
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Frequently Asked Questions for Dentists
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Will I need to take referrals on as regular patients?
No. Students referred to your office will continue to receive preventive services and exams through Bridging Brighter Smiles and the Verona Smiles initiative. If the student needs future care, they will be referred to whatever office is associated with their school.
Does my office need to get BadgerCare certified?
No. If you choose to see Verona students in your office, you can do it in one of three ways:
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Volunteer care.
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Subcontract via Verona Smiles.
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Get BadgerCare certified and bill the State of Wisconsin directly.
Each office will choose how they want to provide care.
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In addition, dentists will be asked to report care provided via Verona Smiles so outcomes can be tracked and reported. Verona Smiles also intends to bill the BadgerCare program for services provided by Verona Smiles dentists. These revenues will support staffing and care coordination. As such, participating dentists who don’t plan on billing the BadgerCare program directly will be asked to get certified under the umbrella of Verona Smiles. Your office will not be identified as a Medicaid provider. However, if a dentist prefers not to provide their NPI and be certified, they are welcome to do unreported volunteer care.
If I decide to get BadgerCare certification through Verona Smiles, will I be required to see Medicaid patients?
No. Any participation or certification is specific to the Verona Smiles initiative.
Will we provide orthodontics or any other specialty care?
At this point, specialty care is not included. However, for children with emergent or severe needs, Verona Smiles will try to secure any necessary care.
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Dr. David Gundersen
BIO: Dr. Gundersen is a Wisconsin native, growing up in La Crosse and living in Madison for over 20 years.
Dr. Gundersen’s path to dentistry started in a classroom in Compton, CA. Having seen first-hand the impacts of oral disease, Dr. Gundersen was inspired to go back to dental school at the age of 39, earning his DDS from Marquette University in 2011.
Prior to pursuing a career in dentistry, Dr. Gundersen's career focused on promoting child and family education and health. He earned a BA in Psychology-Biology from Yale University, an MPH from Emory University, and a Secondary Education Teaching Credential from Cal State – Dominguez Hills. Immediately out of college, he was a Charter Corps member of Teach for America, teaching middle school science and health in Compton, CA. Subsequent to teaching and prior to dental school, he worked as a Legislative Assistant for Congressman Steve Gunderson, Director of School Health Programs for the State of Wisconsin, and Executive Director of the Wisconsin Tobacco Control Board. In these roles, he saw the devastating impact of untreated oral disease, but also the potential to make great strides in preventing and treating this hidden epidemic.
Beyond teeth, Dr. Gundersen enjoys staying active with his wife Amie and their daughter Lucie. He particularly enjoys traveling, reading, watching movies, cycling, hiking, sailing, and skiing, and has published two children’s books, Blacktooth and Dentina, under the pen name Davie Fletcher. In August of 2021, Dr. Gundersen was awarded the Madison.com People’s Choice Award for Best Dentist.
“There is no reason why anybody, particularly a child, should live with rotting teeth and dental pain. I became a dentist because I saw students in my classroom who could not eat, much less learn, because of untreated dental problems. This a truly savage inequality, particularly because oral disease is almost entirely preventable. We won’t stop this work until every Wisconsin child who needs dental care gets it.”
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EMAIL: david@hometownsmiles.org