"I tried to . . . find anybody who knew anybody who took Medicaid," the 37-year-old Hyrum woman said.
Her experience isn't unique. Fewer Utah dentists are accepting new Medicaid patients - or seeing them at all - a fact that can literally be painfully obvious to those who are seeking treatment.
"Dentists and physicians are dropping off at just an alarming rate," said Sen. Allen Christensen, R-Ogden, a dentist who estimates at least half of his patients are on Medicaid.
"The dentists do not need the patients. They're busy enough with their regular-paying clients," he said. "But the patients need the dentists. It's an ongoing battle."
Advocates have long called for higher Medicaid reimbursements for work by dentists, and for the last four fiscal years, the Legislature has responded.
Reimbursements went up 4.3 percent in 2005; 4.8 percent in 2006 and 2 percent in 2007. In 2008, it spiked 30 percent, but for pregnant women and children only; adult services saw a 6 percent bump.
But a dentist work force analysis released last week by the Utah Medical Education Council (UMEC), shows the boost in funding may not have had the desired effect.
Nearly three-quarters of Utah's 1,075 dentists reported in 2006 that they would not accept new Medicaid patients, citing low reimbursement and missed appointments as the major reasons, the report said.
And the number of dentists who will see Medicaid patients at all has dropped: About 50 fewer dentists submitted a single Medicaid claim this fiscal year than two years ago, according to data from the Utah Department of Health's Division of Health Care Financing.
The increase in reimbursements "hasn't been anywhere close to what the costs of dentistry are," said Monte Thompson, executive director of the Utah Dental Association. "We know there is a very real need....but it's a real rub if (dentists) even look at it as a way to break even."
Advocates who go to bat for higher reimbursements say the lack of response from dentists worries them.
"The positive effect that increased funding has had is, unfortunately, maybe fewer dentists have dropped off," said Heather Tritten, executive director of the Utah Community Action Partnership Association. "But that doesn't put us in a [position] where we can go back to the capitol and say, 'Hey, look what you did is great.' "
Instability in funding makes dentists wary, said Don Hawley, retired manager of the health department's Bureau of Coverage and Reimbursement Policy.
Federal law determines which medical services for Medicaid patients are mandatory - and since dental care is optional, it has been treated as a political "pawn," he said.
"If it's an optional program, then the dentists never have any security," said Hawley, who now works as a part-time consultant. "In the last five or eight years, they [haven't known whether] it's on or off."
A one-year large jump in reimbursements, therefore, is unlikely to rope dentists back in, UDA's Thompson said.
"They've been through that cycle enough over the years," he said. "Really, it takes more than one increase. It has to be a legitimate, ongoing program."
In the meantime, it's the Woods who will feel the pinch.
Tawnee Wood's 6-year-old daughter has a deformed jaw, a problem that will only become worse without orthodontic intervention. Wood has called between 20 and 30 dentists "all of the way from here to Provo" who perform some orthodontic services, but none will take her.
"I just gave up," she said.
The problem may be poised to get worse, said UMEC research consultant Sri Koduri. As the Medicaid population grows, demand will increase - at the same time many dentists are approaching retirement. About 27.3 percent are planning to retire over the next 11 years, which translates to about 36 dentists per year.
Only a tiny percentage of the state's work force - 5.6 percent, or a mere 83 dentists - devote a substantial part of their practice to caring for these patients, she noted.
Scott Lyman and Darren Weber at Smithfield's Community Dental Services are among them. Catering to Medicaid patients was a philosophical decision, Lyman said, but one that required retooling the practice to make it financially viable.
The office is located in an industrial area in Smithfield and equipped with "basic, traditional dental equipment, which allows us to take care of most of the needs of Medicaid patients," Lyman said. And it's open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., five days a week.
While many dentists who accept Medicaid patients are reticent to put their names put on provider lists, Lyman is trying to get the word out: "We'd like to see even more [listed]."
