Funds in Illinois That Help Low-Income Children to Get Braces on Their Teeth

Medicaid Programs

Medicaid constitutes a form of government-funded health care available exclusively to low-income families and individuals. Illinois maintains two Medicaid programs specifically for children, All Kids and Family Care. All Kids provides health care exclusively to children of low-income families, while Family Care provides coverage for children and their parents. Each of these programs provides dental care and assists in paying for braces. Illinois Medicaid authorities must pre-approve all candidates for braces --- only children with a Modified Salzmann Index score of 42 or higher qualify. Orthodontists use this Index to indicate the severity of a patient's need. All covered children younger than age 21 qualify for assistance in getting braces.

Illinois uses a complex chart when determining whether a family qualifies for Medicaid programs. The state considers the monthly income of a family and the size of the family. Different income levels qualify families or children for different levels of each program. The more children a family has, the more money it may earn each month. A family with one child may earn as much as $1,207 monthly to qualify for All Kids or Family Care Assist, while a family with five children may earn as much as $3,324 to qualify for Family Care Assist or $2,901 per month to qualify for All Kids Assist. A full version of each chart exists on the Illinois Medicaid website.

Smiles Change Lives is a national nonprofit organization that assists low-income families in purchasing braces for children. Any family in the United States with children between the ages of 10 and 18 may apply for braces through the program, including individuals in Illinois. Qualifying families make 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level, which ranges from $21,780 for families with one child to $75,260 for families with eight children as of 2011. The program requires families to make a contribution of $500 toward the cost of the braces. In some cases, especially low-income families receive partially subsidized braces. Such families pay $200. The organization contacts families who qualify for partial subsidization.

Various organizations provide grant funding to improve oral health conditions in the state of Illinois. These grants do not provide funding directly to low-income families requiring braces, but rather provide large grants designed for funding community clinics that provide discounted oral health care for children. The Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation, for instance, provided $442,824 of funding in 2008 for the Bond County Dental Clinic, which serves 2,045 children annually. Other organizations providing grants for such purposes include the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation and the Illinois Department of Public Health. Families can contact a local dental office or visit a local library to find a clinic funded by such grants in their area.