For some people, the high-pitched drilling, bright fluorescent lights and uncomfortable poking and prodding can make visiting the dentist’s office daunting. But for people with special needs who are often hypersensitive to sounds, lights and touch, it can be especially tough.
As CalMatters’ Kristen Hwang explains, dental offices that can accommodate patients with autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome or even Alzheimer’s are few and far between in California.
Patients with special needs often have to be sedated for routine exams or require more time to become desensitized. Those with physical disabilities may need specialized equipment, such as wheelchair lifts. For complex procedures, Medi-Cal insurance from disabled patients typically doesn’t pay very well, further limiting patient access to private dentists.
Many of these patients are put on waiting lists or must drive hours to the nearest clinic that will take them — making them one of the most underserved populations in the state for dental care, according to the California Dental Association.
To help improve dental care for people with developmental disabilities and other special needs, the state has issued its latest round of specialty dental clinic grants in February totaling $47.2 million to 13 dentists and clinics.
One recipient is Dr. Maxmillian Chambers, an Imperial County dentist, who received a $5 million grant to open a dental surgical center for special needs patients. The grant will cover construction costs for eight chairs and two surgical theaters. Chambers said when the clinic opens, it will be able to serve about 2,100 people a year and will likely treat patients traveling from Arizona and Mexicali.
- Chambers: “I want to make a difference. I don’t want them to have to wait two to three years to see a dentist by which time everything has changed and deteriorated.”
CalMatters events: Fresnoland and CalMatters’ Yousef Baig are teaming up on April 22 to explore the future of the High-Speed Rail project with key decision makers and local leaders at the Fresno City College Old Administration Building Auditorium. Register here.
And on April 24, join CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall and policy leaders as they tackle what’s working to address homelessness and affordable housing — and what’s not. Register today to attend online or in person at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento.
How have Trump’s executive orders and other recent actions affected you? CalMatters is working with public radio partners to gather perspectives across the state. Share your thoughts here.
Other Stories You Should Know
Trump targets CA climate change policies
On Tuesday President Donald Trump issued an executive order that targets state and local climate change policies — singling out California’s key cap-and-trade program in the process, reports CalMatters’ Alejandro Lazo.
Trump’s order directs the U.S. Attorney General to review and identify state and local acts that may be unconstitutional or preempted by federal law. The attorney general has 60 days to report back to Trump with findings and recommendations for action.
In addition to New York and Vermont, the order calls out California for “enacting burdensome and ideologically motivated ‘climate change’ or energy policies that threaten American energy dominance and our economic and national security.” Namely, the state’s program that aims to curb greenhouse gas emissions by allowing companies to buy and sell emissions credits.
- The order: “California … punishes carbon use by adopting impossible caps on the amount of carbon businesses may use, all but forcing businesses to pay large sums to ‘trade’ carbon credits to meet California’s radical requirements.”
Some legal experts, however, cast doubt over Trump’s claims that states are overreaching their authority or that their policies are unconstitutional.
Californians’ power bills are lower than usual this month thanks to a twice-per-year climate credit funded by cap and trade. The amount of the credit depends on the utility, but most people will get a credit between $56 and $81.38.
Opening the door for AI-powered nuclear plants?
As state lawmakers and tech companies look to nuclear power as a potential energy source for artificial intelligence, California’s last remaining nuclear power plant is looking to artificial intelligence to help manage its own work, writes Alex Shultz for CalMatters.
Last year Pacific Gas & Electric said they had a deal with AI startup Atomic Canyon to carry out “the first on-site generative AI deployment at a U.S. nuclear power plant” for Diablo Canyon in San Luis Obisbo. The AI data-mining tool, known as Neutron Enterprise, helps workers go through millions of pages of technical reports, regulations and documents from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
- Maureen Zawalick, PG&E vice president of Business and Technical Services: “We probably spend about 15,000 hours a year searching through our multiple databases and records and procedures. And that’s going to shrink that time way down.”
Though Zawalick clarifies that Neutron Enterprise is not a “decision-maker,” it nonetheless paves the way for future uses of AI at Diablo Canyon and other facilities.
California lawmakers have tried, with varying success, to pass measures regulating AI, and Assemblymember Dawn Addis, a San Luis Obisbo Democrat, said she has “many unanswered questions of the safety, oversight, and job implications for using AI at Diablo.”
At the federal level, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been looking into deploying AI tools at nuclear plants for a few years, but it’s unclear how those efforts will continue under the Trump administration, which opposes AI regulation.
And lastly: Unionizing gig workers
Nearly five years after ride-hailing companies blocked an attempt to classify California gig workers as employees, Democratic state lawmakers unveiled a bill Tuesday that would enable Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize. Find out more from CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: A new study, which California politicians should heed, confirms that the state is exceptionally bad at increasing its housing supply and moderating its costs.
To make live sports more accessible, state and local policymakers should demand “street pricing” when negotiating economic development deals for taxpayer-funded stadiums, writes Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy at Groundwork Collaborative and former college baseball player.
Other things worth your time:
Drug tests in CA prisons yielded false positives, affecting thousands of people // The Guardian
CA lawmakers tackle potential dangers of AI chatbots after parents raise safety concerns // Los Angeles Times
CA’s effort to hold oil companies liable for natural disaster damage stalls // AP News
Insurance Commissioner deviated from Gov. Newsom on telework policy // The Sacramento Bee
Supreme Court blocks SF judge’s order requiring government to rehire fired workers // San Francisco Chronicle
DOGE cuts bring chaos, long waits at Social Security for seniors // Los Angeles Times
Google, with potential breakup over its search monopoly, backs down from muzzling workers // The Mercury News
How LA removed 1 million pounds of flammable lithium-ion batteries from its burn zones // Los Angeles Times
Across San Diego, students, parents and educators raise alarm over funding cuts to schools // The San Diego Union-Tribune