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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How Hometown Smiles Works for Schools
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For schools interested in partnering with Hometown Smiles, here’s how it works:
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Identify a staff person to be your office lead for the Hometown Smiles initiative.
An essential piece of the Hometown Smiles initiative is to build strong relationships between schools and local dental offices. Each office and each school will have a lead contact person to assure a strong and smooth partnership.
Work with Hometown Smiles staff to enroll any students participating in a dental prevention program in Hometown Smiles.
Students participating in a dental prevention program at school will be offered care through Hometown Smiles.
Coordinate with Hometown Smiles staff to schedule dates, locations, and process for doing exams of students.
The first step in getting students care is providing comprehensive exams and x-rays at school. Hometown Smiles staff will be responsible for setting up and breaking down equipment, sanitizing and cleaning before and after visits, and ferrying kids to and from in-school exams. Every school is unique, and prior to any school visits, protocols and processes will be worked out with school leaders to assure the least intrusion possible to student learning.
Develop a referral process for getting kids to their adopted dentists.
Once treatment needs are identified, Hometown Smiles staff will help get treatment plans, consents, and scheduling assistance to all parents or guardians. The goal is to make the process as easy as possible for school staff and families.
Build Lasting Relationships.
Any Wisconsin community participating in the Hometown Smile initiative will be working to guarantee that any kid who needs care gets it. Once in place, Hometown Smiles will work to nurture and maintain strong relationships to assure a lasting impact on the lives of our children.