@article{THESIS,
      recid = {5848},
      author = {Wollaeger, Mia},
      title = {A Dental System in Decay: An Exploration and Evaluation of  Social Responsibility and Medicaid in Dentistry},
      publisher = {University of Chicago},
      school = {B.A.},
      address = {2022-04},
      number = {THESIS},
      abstract = {<p>While oral health is important to one’s overall health,  it often does not receive the same attention as other  health services. As health inequities rise and dentistry  becomes more subject to economic pressure, there is concern  regarding dental students’ moral education, character  development, and capacity to provide care for vulnerable  populations. Existing literature does not fully explore the  application of social responsibility to dentistry and the  relationship between social responsibility and Medicaid  participation. In this paper, I examine how dentists in  Illinois conceptualize social responsibility as it relates  to Medicaid and the manifestation of social responsibility  in dentistry. Through a series of semi-structured  interviews with dentists and orthodontists in Illinois, I  discover a tension between practicing social responsibility  and participating in Medicaid, as this social welfare  program violates the financial, legal, and ethical  obligations integral to practicing social responsibility.  These findings help inform the promotion of social  responsibility among the next generation of dentists and  the improvement of access to dental care for low-income  populations. Recommendations from this study include the  use of workshops and town meetings hosted by the Illinois  Department of Healthcare and Family Services to address  administrative burdens related to Medicaid, dental school  curriculum that promotes social responsibility through  service learning, and increased funding and proliferation  of Federally Qualified Health Centers in Illinois.</p>},
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/5848},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.6082/uchicago.5848},
}