West Virginia meets half of the eight policy benchmarks aimed at addressing children's dental care, a significant improvement since 2010. The state reports that sealant programs are now in more than one-quarter of high-risk schools. Additionally, the state surpasses the national threshold for the Medicaid rates it pays as a percentage of dentists' median retail fees.
West Virginia may make further progress soon on Pew's benchmarks. The state is considering reimbursing medical providers for preventive dental health services, although the policy was not in place in 2010.