Dental Health

Dental Health Delivery System

Oral care is provided to each inmate in accordance with established guidelines under the direction and supervision of a dentist licensed in the state of Georgia. Every inmate has access to the full range of dental services offered at the resident facility or referral facility. Services offered are in accordance with the assigned classification level of each facility into one of five different levels.

Level I: Facilities without in-house dental care and provide access to routine dental service on a fee-for-service basis, through a private dental practice.

• Transitional Centers

Level II: Facilities without in-house dental care and provide dental screening by trained health care staff and access to emergency dental care by a dentist either located at a neighboring GDC facility or from the local community who works under a mutually agreed to contract with the GDC.

• Probation Detention Centers
• RSAT Facilities
• Probation Boot Camp

Level III: State and Private Prisons that provide access to routine dental care, in addition to screening and emergency care, within the facility or by transporting them to a neighboring GDC facility.

• All State and Private Prisons other than listed in Levels IV or V

Level IV: State Prisons that provide routine dental care in the facility to the resident population and provide diagnostic and emergency services to incoming inmates.

• Intake facilities

Level V: Augusta State Medical Prison is the only level V facility. The mission of this facility is to provide specialized dental/oral maxillofacial surgery services for the GDC and to provide routine care to the resident population.

Routine Dental Services rendered:

• Comprehensive Diagnostic Services
• Treatment Plan
• Operative Procedures: fillings or procedures requiring castings or involving laboratory fees are not available
• Periodontal Services: routine prophylaxis, scaling and root planning, closed flap curettage
• Extractions
• Removable Prosthodontics: complete dentures and acrylic partial dentures
• Patients who are completely edentulous in one or both arches and do not have serviceable dental appliances will have the opportunity to acquire complete dentures within the capability of dental services (as the schedule allows after patients with pain and infection are addressed)
• Repair of existing damaged prostheses for functional purposes.

Referral to Level V facility for specialized Oral Maxillofacial Surgery services as deemed necessary.

Routine Dental Services NOT offered by the GDC:

• Endodontic therapy (root canals)
• Orthodontics iis not available, but if an inmate enters the Department with orthodontic appliances in place, a GDC dentist will make a reasonable effort to contact the treating Orthodontist to consult on the decision of either retaining or removing the braces
• Implants
• Fixed Prosthodontics (crowns and bridges)

Any unusual exceptions to the above guidelines must be authorized by the Statewide Dental Director.