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Phone: 206-296-4600
TTY Relay: 711

Toll-free: 800-325-6165

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Welcome to the Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD) Program for Seattle and King County!

Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD)

ABCD focuses on preventive and restorative dental care for Medicaid-eligible children from birth through age five with an emphasis on the first dental visit by age one.

Program eligibility
  • Do you have any children 5 years old or younger?
  • Do they live in Seattle/King County?
  • Are they enrolled in Medicaid or do they have medical coupons?

If you answered yes to all of the above questions then your child is eligible for the program and ABCD staff will make every effort to find the right dentist for you.

tooth Click here to enroll online

Program benefits
  • Increased access to dental care throughout King County
  • Increased number of dental services (i.e. 3 fluoride varnish applications per year, 2 Family Oral Hygiene Instruction consultations per year, etc.)
  • Assistance in finding a dentist that will fit you location, timing, and language preferences
  • Assistance in coordinating transportation to and from the dental office
  • Assistance in coordinating interpreter services for the dental visit
Program background

In 1994 a group of concerned dentists, dental educators, public health agencies, the state dental association, and State Medicaid representatives came together to address the problem of the severe lack of dental access by Washington State's high-risk preschool children. The proposed solution was the development of the ABCD Program.

The first ABCD program opened for enrollment in Spokane, Washington in February 1995 as a collaborative effort between several partners in the public and private sectors. Its success has led other county dental societies and health districts in Washington to adopt the program, as well as prompted interest from other states.

The Seattle and King County ABCD program is part of the King County Health Action Plan's Kids Get Care (KGC) Program and the largest of 23 ABCD programs in Washington State. The KGC program's core mission is to ensure that children have access to early integrated preventive physical, oral and developmental health services through the attachment to a medical and dental home, which KGC defines as a source of continuous comprehensive care.

The Health Action Plan, the collaborative community entity that designed KGC, has over six years experience in developing and implementing public/private activities. Working in partnership with Public Health - Seattle & King County, Washington Dental Service Foundation, the Washington Health Foundation, and over thirty other organizations, the Health Action Plan implements collaborative policy development and pilot projects that focus on system change and improvement of worsening health trends affecting vulnerable populations within King County.

Program flyers
Dental providers in King County, updated Jan. 2012
Parts of Pierce and Snohomish counties included
  • Central King County
    Serving Downtown Seattle, International District, South Park, George Town, Capitol Hill, Central District, Columbia City, Southeast, Rainier Valley, Skyway, West Seattle, and Vashon Island

  • East King County
    Serving Bellevue, Bothell, Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond, Sammamish, Snoqualmie Valley, Woodinville

  • Lower King County
    Serving Auburn, Bonney Lake, Federal Way, Kent, Maple Valley

  • North King County
    Serving Bothell, Ballard, Crown Hill, Lake Union, Fremont, Lake Union, Greenwood, Green Lake, Wallingford, University District, Shoreline, Lake City

  • Upper King County
    Serving Medicaid (ProviderOne - DSHS) Children and/or Adults

ABCD Dentistry (streaming video)

A trip to the dentist office is pretty routine for most kids. But if money is tight, those visits may not be a priority for some families. But thanks to the Access to Baby and Child Dentistry program, all kids have the opportunity to have pearly whites. Watch this video to learn how ABCD ensures coverage for every child in Seattle and King County.

Get ABCD program
e-mail updates
As a subscriber, you'll get an email alerting you of significant information posted to this page.

Contact us:

Carol A. Allen, ABCD Coordinator
Phone: 206-263-8750, King County

Community Health Access Program (CHAP), toll free 1-800-756-5437

About us:

Kids Get Care, ABCD, and the Children's Preventive Health Care Collaborative are programs of the King County Health Action Plan whose mission is to implement innovative collaborative policy development and pilot projects that focus on system change and improvement of worsening health trends affecting vulnerable populations within King County.