The $2.5 million Oral Health Program brings dentists to Title I schools in San Antonio, providing free oral health exams, decay treatment and prevention, oral hygiene education, case management for children with severe decay, and connects families with longer-term dental care. It served 17,000 kids in San Antonio last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really have seen us kind of as a safety net for the city, for the most at-risk kids,\u201d said Rebecca Davenport, the clinical director for the Oral Health Program. \u201cWe\u2019re able to connect them with that care, whether it be helping them find a home dentist, or helping them find the means to be able to afford payment for their care. It\u2019s really significant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Members of the Oral Health Program presented to the San Antonio City Council\u2019s Community Health Committee on Feb. 2, in hopes that additional city dollars could help the program continue despite the loss of funding.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/MetroHealth_PediatricOralDentistry_Title1Schools_03_02.19.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
UT Health San Antonio dental students provide oral health services like check-ups, fillings and fluoride treatments during a visit to North East ISD\u2019s Regency Elementary School on Thursday. Metro Health serviced 17,000 children last year at no-cost to the students or their families. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
Tooth decay in San Antonio<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s Oral Health Program has been around for roughly 50 years, starting with brick and mortar dental clinics around the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Metro Health started transitioning away from physical clinics into mobile services in the mid-2000s, partnering with UT Health San Antonio and the city\u2019s Head Start program, which provides health, education and support services to young children and families.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Around 2012, the city health department closed its last clinic and started bringing the services directly to Title I schools \u2014 where the majority of students are considered economically disadvantaged \u2014 as well as Head Start and Early Head Start centers.<\/p>\n
The rate of untreated tooth decay in third graders in San Antonio\u2019s Oral Health Program was 37% during the 2024-25 school year, significantly higher than the state average of 24%, according to data from Metro Health.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany times it\u2019s the first time [the children] have ever even seen a dentist,\u201d said David Singleton, a retired dentist who worked in the program, during the meeting. \u201c[Tooth decay] affects the whole health of the child. It\u2019s really a life-changing thing for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The COVID-19 pandemic upended the program\u2019s incremental progress in bringing down the percentage of urgent cases in children. A case is urgent if the child is in pain or if there\u2019s rampant tooth decay.<\/p>\n
The percentage of school children with urgent cases had been coming down slightly in the years leading up to the pandemic to around 2.7% before jumping to 4.6% when the program resumed operations in 2022 after a two-year hiatus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not only were there more urgent cases, the urgent cases were often worse, Davenport said.<\/p>\n
Common barriers to oral health include the cost of dental care, inexperience navigating the health system, lack of oral hygiene education and past dental trauma. Often, parents aren\u2019t aware of the cavities and poor oral health until the children are examined through the program, Davenport said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear parents and grandparents tell their kids, \u2018If you eat all of that candy, your teeth are going to get giant cavities, and then they\u2019re going to have to pull out all your teeth,’\u201d Davenport said. \u201cYou\u2019re making what we do as dentists such a horrible thing. You\u2019ve made them afraid to say that something hurts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davenport said that bringing the dentists to children in a familiar environment is one of the greatest strengths of the program, given the fear surrounding dentist visits and the long-term health consequences whenever infections go untreated.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust above your top teeth, you have your brain, and if you point just below your bottom teeth, you have your throat,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t want infection spreading to either of those things in my body, so it can end up being a life threatening, worst-case scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/MetroHealth_PediatricOralDentistry_Title1Schools_01_02.19.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
UT Health San Antonio dental students prepare for the next round of third graders at North East ISD\u2019s Regency Elementary School during a Metro Health Oral Health program visit on Thursday. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
\u2018Dollars are tight\u2019<\/p>\n
The program has relied heavily on $1.4 million in funding made possible by the Medicaid 1115 waiver since around 2012. When the agreement expires in September, the program risks losing funding for 34 out of 39 staffers if the losses can\u2019t be replaced from other sources.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we lose that funding, we\u2019re losing the staffing that we need in order to operate the clinical preventative services that we\u2019re doing currently,\u201d Davenport said.<\/p>\n
The program also receives $660,000 through grants and $400,000 through the city\u2019s general fund. City leaders indicated a desire to keep the program afloat, but city budget constraints<\/a> will make that challenging.<\/p>\n \u201cDollars are tight,\u201d says Councilman Marc Whyte (D10). \u201cTo the extent that we can support the program in a reasonable way, I\u2019m certainly for that.\u201d<\/p>\n