For some families, it's the only answer:

"'I have an older son; he's 22 now, and his teeth are bad because when he was young, I was working year-round and couldn't get Medicaid,' he said. Though he worked full-time, he didn't make enough money to pay dental bills, and as a result his, and his son's, teeth decayed badly, Boyles said.

But now that he's earning less, his family's health is in better hands, he said.

'One problem is not a lot of dentists want to take Medicaid because they don't get as much money,' he said. Even dentists who accept Medicaid patients may put off procedures for them, while they service their cash-paying or privately insured patients, he said."