Naperville dentist: Everyone needs coverage

As a teenager, Sangita Garg learned the hard way what happens when you put off a dentist visit.

She waited until a painful toothache became unbearable before seeing a doctor.

"I had a sleepless night. I couldn't talk, couldn't eat," said Garg, of Naperville, who is now dental director of the Will County Community Health Center.

"I realized at that time I waited too long and the tooth had decayed," she said. That adolescent experience inspired her to pursue a career as a dentist.

Dr. Garg works at the health center, 1106 Neal Ave. in Joliet, two or three days a week. To her delight, most of her patients -- 70 percent -- are children.

Of her 25 years practicing dentistry, she has worked nine at the health center. She prefers the center to working in a private practice, where the focus is on the bottom line.

"I wanted to help patients, rather than think about how we're going to get money from them," Garg said.

It's not a free clinic, but the prices are more affordable. Some patients pay what they can week to week -- $20, $30, $50, she said. Emergency walk-ins are never turned away.

One of the biggest problems, however, are no-shows, which often happens when an appointment is scheduled with a payment due, Garg said. The center's dental patient no-show rate is 25 percent.

There is a high demand for dental care among the uninsured, Garg said. She believes medical insurance should include dental coverage.

"A lot of people have medical insurance, but a lot don't have dental insurance. There's a big disparity," she said.

Typically the clinic has upward of 70 appointments scheduled daily, including cleanings and sealants that are done by dental assistants. Two doctors split about 50 appointments a day.

In 2007, the Will County center logged 7,768 dental patient visits.

"Nobody else will do the quality work we're doing here for what they can pay," Garg said. "The demand is much more than we can accommodate."

It's hard to find specialists willing to treat the patients from the center. Few are willing to discount their services for the low-income or uninsured.

"I am not opposed to universal health care," Garg said. "Every single American needs to have some kind of dental coverage. Then everybody would have access."

Regular dental checkups are crucial to preventing disease, as Garg learned from her own experience. She recommends children as young as 1 year old begin regular dentist visits, which helps them establish the habit and provides an opportunity for doctors to educate their parents.

Garg still works part time in private practice in Addison, but said her experience at the clinic has been so satisfying that one day she may work there full time.

"The people we serve here get dental services at affordable prices, but we get so much more," Garg said. "It is a very satisfying and rewarding feeling."