About Us

Michigan Community Dental Clinics, Inc. (MCDC) is a not-for-profit management services corporation, established in 2006 to allow the successful Dental Clinics North (DCN) model for delivery of public health dental services to expand to other areas of Michigan.

The Dental Clinics North model utilizes electronic patient records, digital radiography, state of the art dental equipment, and compensation methods that encourage productivity, efficiency, and cost control.  The result is a network of public health dental clinics that resemble private practice, providing timely, much-needed services to a greater number of people.  In addition, the financial model for the dental program is designed to break even so that the local Health Department does not have to provide support to the dental clinics.

The target populations served by the clinics are adults and children on Medicaid, as well as low income, uninsured individuals whose income is below 200% of the Federal poverty level.  Non-Medicaid clients are offered a reduced fee schedule equivalent to the Delta Dental PPO rates.  Surplus funds allow for the establishment of a Dental Assistance Fund which is used to supplement the cost of care on a sliding percentage, based upon an individual’s income.

MCDC assists local Health Departments establish dental clinics by:

  1. Designing new clinic facilities or remodeling existing facilities.
  2. Providing specifications for equipment and supplies needed to provide care.
  3. Manage the clinic facilities by:
    a. Providing the electronic patient record, using the Dentrix Enterprise Software Program.
    b. Billing Medicaid for services rendered.
    c. Hiring all clinic personnel.
    d. Providing direction for the operation of the clinic.
  4. Assisting local Health Departments with integration of oral health education and prevention programs with existing WIC and other local Health Department services.

With this approach, MCDC is able to attract and retain exceptional dental practitioners who now have a viable alternative to owning their own private practice.

MCDC delivers dental services in a unique fashion, and shares the DCN expertise and success with other areas of Michigan in a very efficient and cost-effective fashion.

Our Business Model

When people have access to comprehensive oral health care, their overall health, well-being and self-confidence are significantly improved, as are their ability to secure employment, learn in school, and contribute to society.  Michigan has over 1.5 million residents with annual incomes below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.  The majority of this group do not have dental insurance or are on Medicaid, and have poor access to dental care.

Michigan Community Dental Clinics, Inc. (MCDC), a non-profit, 501(c)3 corporation, has been formed to address this access problem by creating and managing dental clinics on behalf of local Public Health Departments in Michigan.

Currently, MCDC administers a network of clinics, primarily in Northern Michigan, that serve over 50,000 individuals statewide.

The practice style used in MCDC administered public health clinics is a social entrepreneur model, which is akin to the prevention-driven private practice model, with incentives to increase productivity and control costs.  This approach generates teamwork that enthusiastically provides needed care, regardless of the payer source.

Our clinics utilize state-of-the-art equipment that includes digital panoramic and intra-oral radiography, and Dentrix® practice management software at chairside to provide the electronic patient chart.  This allows efficient delivery of care, reduces charting and billing errors, and manages healthcare records that are easily read and understood.

Through the creation of regionally marketed reduced fee programs (e.g., the Northern Dental Plan and Michigan Community Dental Plan), low-income uninsured individuals gain access to care in affiliated public health clinics, as well as to self-selected private practitioners who participate in the program.  In these reduced-fee plans, after paying an enrollment fee that covers the initial exam, patients pay for care directly to the provider.  Fees coincide with the Delta Dental DPO fee schedule.

As clinics generate monies in excess of costs, monies will be accumulated in a Dental Assistance Fund to help contribute to the cost of care in our clinics on a sliding scale, based upon the patient’s income.  This allows our clinics to provide care to those with very low incomes, as well as for services not covered by Medicaid.

The Services We Provide

Assist With the Design or Remodel of New and Existing Clinic Facilities

  • Allow for sufficient number of patient chairs and patient flow to provide care in an efficient and productive fashion, with the optimum number of practitioners.
  • Standardize facilities plans to help reduce the cost of building.  We utilize a design-build approach that reduces the time to construct, equip, and utilize a facility.
  • Provide quiet-room space for loud patients that require privacy.
  • Maintain well-designed facilities help to attract and retain outstanding dental practitioners.

Provide the Specifications for Equipment and Supplies

  • A standardized dental treatment room with dental chairs that accommodate right and left handed practitioners as well as large and small patients.
  • Digital radiography for panoramic and intra-oral images.
  • Standardized equipment and supplies, allowing for uniformity of care and advantaged pricing from suppliers.

Manage the Dental Clinics

  • Maintain electronic patient record via the Dentrix Enterprise® practice management software, which is hosted on servers at our Charlevoix headquarters.
  • Bill Medicaid for services rendered, including posting of payments to reconcile patient accounts.
  • Hire all clinic personnel:
    • All dental staff are hired by MCDC either as employees or independent contractors, as circumstances, staff status and desires dictate.
    • Each employee is provided a comprehensive benefits package.
  • Provide direction for clinic operation:
    • Standardize procedures and processes, treatment modalities, payment methods, forms, supplies and instruments.
    • Provide oversight to assure quality via a QA Director who audits the quality and appropriateness of care delivered.
  • Manage a Dental Plan to allow access to services to low income uninsured patients, who will pay on a sliding fee schedule, based on income, supported by the Dental Assistance Fund that will become available as excess funds accumulate.

Assist Local Health Departments Integrate Oral Education

  • Provide assistance with outreach programs to provide access to those with the most need.
  • Integrate dental prevention practices into WIC and Head Start programs.

Coordinate Hospital Care

  • Coordinate Hospital Dental Care for very young children and developmentally disabled adults, and others with special health issues that make treatment in a clinic impossible
  • Arrange for the scheduling of patients at various hospitals throughout Michigan.
  • Coordinate pre-surgical history and physicals with appropriate physicians.
  • Bill for all hospital-based services.

Coordinate the Establishment and Management of a Dental Assistance Fund

  • Coordinate the establishment of a Dental Assistance Fund to be used by the clinics to support the cost of care to low-income uninsured, and to support the cost of services not covered by Medicaid.

Michigan Community Dental Clinics, Inc., Was Established According to the Following Principles:

Our Mission

Our mission is to increase access to oral healthcare and provide health education to Medicaid recipients and low-income uninsured persons in Michigan.

  • Our care is delivered in a fashion that upholds and respects the dignity of those served, with the ultimate goal of improving their quality of life with improved health and wellbeing.
  • Our focus is on those we serve.
  • We are changing lives – one life at a time.

Our Vision

  • Our vision is a healthy Michigan population, who assume responsibility for their own wellness, with our staff’s guidance and proper intervention.
  • This is accomplished by providing appropriate oral healthcare, delivered efficiently and with assured quality, to meet the needs of those who seek care.

Our Action Statement

  • We assist in the development of dental clinics to increase access to oral healthcare for those on  Medicaid and the Low-income Uninsured.
  • We also provide the staff and management services that allow the clinics to maximize efficiency and productivity, leveraging limited resources for the greater good.

Contact Us

If you have an interest in learning more about our programs and clinics, please contact us at info@midental.org.  If you are interested in joining our team of dental professionals, please either click on Career Opportunities or contact us at humanresources@midental.org.