OLYMPIA — Dr. John Gibbons, a pediatric dentist who operates a practice in Silverdale and Tacoma, worked with state legislators this session to introduce a bill that expands the Access to Baby and Child Dentistry program. State Senate Bill 6549 was signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on March 21.
The bill passed unanimously by a vote of 98-0 in the state House on Feb. 28, a little over a month after it was introduced. It expands the ABCD program, which is administered by the Washington Health Care Authority. Established in 1995, the program was created to promote good oral health and access to dental care for children on Medicaid.
Children with disabilities on Medicaid would be covered under the program up to the age of 12. Gibbons, who is the Western District Trustee for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, said his idea for the bill spawned from years of experience working with special-needs children.
“This was a bipartisan bill and I was ecstatic that this passed,” he said. “I couldn’t believe that an idea actually turned into reality in a few months.”
In addition to his own practice, the pediatric dentist has served on staff at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma for 30 years. He received support for this bill from both Democrats and Republicans. More specifically, Gibbons worked with state Sen. Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island and state Rep. Michelle Caldier, R-Port Orchard. Caldier also is a career dentist.
Rolfes, who sponsored the bill, said Gibbons brought his idea to her at least two years ago and she jumped on the concept. She has experience working with parents of children who have developmental disabilities and said she understands the difficulties parents face in finding trained professionals such as Gibbons to provide care for their children.
“It’s really hard to pass legislation in Olympia,” Rolfes said. “The system is designed to kill bills, not pass bills. So, I encouraged him to make this a priority for the Dental Association because then I would have a grassroots group of dentists from around the state lobbying for it.”
With Gibbons’ help, the organization moved it to the top of its agenda. In addition to expanding the program’s coverage, dentists and hygienists will be required to complete training on properly treating children with disabilities.
“To receive certification to provide program services to children with disabilities, a dentist or hygienist must be licensed under Title 18 RCW and complete a course on treating children with disabilities as defined by the authority in rule,” the bill states.
Gibbons said the next step is to work on a curriculum for the training in which ABCD champions, (leading dentists of the ABCD program) will be teaching.
“[If] somebody moves to the community from another state, we have what we call ‘ABCD champions’ — these are dentists that do the training,” he said. “So, at any time, if somebody decides after reading this bill that they are going to get this certification, the champions can help them do that.”
Rolfes added that this bill passing is a perfect example of what her job is about.
“Part of our job as representatives is to bring ideas to Olympia that come from people that live in our district and this was a perfect example of that — a local pediatric dentist with a good idea coming to the legislators, asking for help,” she said.
— Jacob Moore is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. Contact him at Jmoore@soundpublishing.com.
