Impact Stories

Rebeca’s 4 a.m. alarm rings, signaling the start of a long-awaited day for her and her 8-year-old son, Ryan. Ryan had suffered chronic dental pain, and Rebeca spent years searching for a provider who could safely treat him under sedation in a hospital setting. She contacted clinic after clinic, only to find that they either didn’t accept their Medi-Cal Dental insurance or had lengthy waitlists.

Her search finally led her to AltaMed.

With Ryan’s treatment scheduled, Rebeca and Ryan got up before sunrise and began the drive from San Bernadino to Rady Children’s Health (formerly Children’s Hospital Orange County).

“I would always try to help him brush his teeth,” Rebeca says. “And it got to a point where he’s like, ‘No, it hurts. I can’t.’ I got him a soft brush; it did help, but he was still in pain, and it was hard for him to concentrate at school.”

After years of delays and difficulty finding care, Ryan arrived at the AltaMed Sunflower Clinic with a gum infection, more than a dozen cavities, and severely damaged teeth that required 10 extractions.

For children like Ryan, pediatric dental sedation can be one of the only ways they can safely receive the care they need. With limited availability, many low-income families struggle to find providers who offer these services.

As Orange County’s sole Medi-Cal Dental provider for pediatric dental sedation, AltaMed Dental is helping make specialized care more accessible to low-income families through its Sunflower Clinic in Santa Ana and its partnership with Rady Children’s Health.

The partnership brings together AltaMed’s dental expertise with Rady’s pediatric anesthesia and hospital-based care, allowing children with complex needs to receive comprehensive dental treatment in a safe, supportive environment. Together, the organizations have reduced average appointment wait times to two to three months.

“I don’t think I can adequately state the importance of the relationship between AltaMed and Rady Children’s Health,” says pediatric dentist Christina Maldonado, DMD. “Without the ability of both sides to be present for a patient like Ryan, we would never be able to meet his health care needs.”

For Ryan, that partnership meant finally getting the treatment he had been waiting for.

Ryan’s experience reflects a broader challenge facing children with Medi-Cal coverage across Orange County. Without access to a safety net provider like AltaMed, hundreds of thousands of Medi-Cal patients across Orange County could face significant delays in accessing dental care, increasing their risk of untreated dental disease, chronic pain, and serious infections.

Priyal Ohri, MD, assistant vice president of dental, pediatric, and specialty programs at AltaMed, sees the consequences of delayed care firsthand. Many of her young patients arrive with eight or more cavities and significant pain.

“A lot of my patients can’t eat, sleep, or cry throughout the night,” Dr. Ohri says.

Around 75% of patients visiting the ER for emergency dental care have Medi-Cal.

Unlike other medical emergencies, there is no system in place to provide immediate treatment for many dental emergencies. For families unable to find a dental provider, that can mean repeated trips to the emergency room that offer only a temporary solution to the problem.

“That’s where we come in at AltaMed Dental,” Dr. Ohri says. “We want to serve those who typically have a difficult time finding care and provide definitive treatment so that our patients can eat, drink, and smile pain-free.”

For Ryan, the difference is already clear. Since receiving treatment, Rebeca has noticed an improvement in his mood and sleep. He can now eat his favorite foods, brush his teeth, and focus at school without the pain he experienced before.

After his extractions, Ryan continues to receive follow-up care at AltaMed Sunflower Clinic, where his care team monitors his recovery and helps him maintain his oral health.

After years of asking when the pain would end, Ryan can finally look ahead to a future where going to the dentist means taking care of his health instead of treating his pain.