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Alabama meets half of the eight policy benchmarks aimed at strengthening children’s dental health, one more benchmark than it met in 2010. The newly met benchmark reflects the state’s submission of basic screening data to the National Oral Health Surveillance System.

Although the state has made progress, Medicaid reimbursement slid slightly, from 60.1 percent of dentists’ fees in 2008 to 53.6 percent in 2010. Just under half of the state’s Medicaid-enrolled children received dental services in 2009; while this is better than many states, it is a slight decline from 2007, when 51.9 percent of children received care.