More and more people each year are passing up their important annual dentist visit, and fear isn’t the only reason.  Millions of people are struggling to afford a simple cleaning at the dentist during these tough economic times, and many health insurance companies do not offer dental coverage which needs to change.  Oral health is just as important as overall health since a link between the two has been shown.

The article “Report Offers Ideas for Improving Access to Dental Care” by Jenny Gold on LATimes.com, 4.6 million children did not make it to the dentist in 2008 because their parents could not afford the cost.  Only about 38% of retired people had dental coverage even with Medicare.  The good news is that a recent report from the Institute of Medicine offers new ideas on improving the access to dental care for Americans.

One idea is to recruit more dental students from minority, rural areas with lower incomes to serve needy locations.  Another idea involves investigating ways to expand Medicaid dental coverage to not only cover children, but adults as well.  The Institute also recommends increasing reimbursement rates for dental providers.  This may prove beneficial since another report by Sandra Decker of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that paying more to providers raises the number of children who get consistent teeth cleanings.

Bottom line is that something must be done.  With such a close link between oral health and overall health it makes sense to include dental care in typical health care packages.  Health insurance quotes should be all encompassing and adding dental care as standard would move us in the right direction.

By Sam Tabes

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