Dr. Hall,
I’m a cancer survivor and am on Medicaid. I’ve been bulimic since I was 15. I’m now 52. I had porcelain veneers done in 1987 and have loved them! my problem now is my upper gums have receded due to the bulimia and the cancer. Will Medicaid cover veneers since my problem is due to a medical problem?
– Terri from Texas

Terri,
Unfortunately, Medicaid is designed to cover only the cheapest treatment that will solve any given problem, and with the cheapest materials. And at that, they never pay the provider the full fee. So you have all those obstacles.

In the minds of the architects of Medicaid, the problem with your teeth could be solved by extracting all your natural teeth and providing you with removable dentures. That they would cover. That is assuming that they buy your reasoning that this is actually a manifestation of a medical problem.

But even if they did cover porcelain veneers, they would not cover beautiful porcelain veneers. For dental procedures, they are now paying about one-third to one-half of typical fee schedules. From the start, that will cut out practically any dentist who provides quality cosmetic dentistry. And then for the dentist who is willing to take a case like that, he or she will be looking for any possible way to cut corners and deliver some type of veneer. Unfortunately, that is the state of Medicaid in the country. And still the program is going broke trying to make ends meet.

Dr. Hall

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