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| Today there is a lot of talk about the 47 million Americans without Health Insurance But very is being said about the more than 100 million without any dental coverage. |
Dental Care in America
One third of Americans are without Dental Insurance.
For some time now I have been writing stories about Americas Dental Insurance Crisis and the long-term effects of ignoring your teeth. Due to the cost of dental care many of us delay treatment until we are in pain. As we all know by that time the care we need is much more extensive and more expensive.In the report titled "Americas dental insurance crisis" CBS News did a great job of bringing the issue to the countries attention. They reported that 100 million people or one third of the country is without dental insurance. This has caused an epidemic of people living with conditions that are treatable.
Some of the problems that are discussed are ...
· Increased school absences due to children being in pain. (The number one childhood disease is Dental decay leaving many kids in chronic pain.)
· Unemployment because studies have shown that it's harder to get a job if you have a bad smile.
· Death due to other health problems caused by poor dental care.
Harvard did a study and asked people what the first thing they would do if we got universal health care. The number one answer was teeth. This shows just how out of control the problem is. It all comes down to money. People can't afford to carry dental insurance, but without insurance they can't afford to visit the dentist.
There are organizations out there trying to help but it's to little to even put a dent in the problem. Some areas have dental vans that show up in neighborhood and offer free care but always have to turn people away because way more show up than they can help.
To see the entire report go to CBS News "Americas Dental Insurance Crisis"
Dental Care Decay
Recently ABC News did a story titled "Dental Care Decay" on Deamonte Driver, a 12 year old boy from Baltimore who died due to an infection which spread from a bad tooth to his brain. With this report they shinned a light on the dental insurance crisis in America. There are more than 100 million Americans without dental insurance. Some are fortunate enough to get on Medicaid or programs that some states have but most dentists won't accept these plans.
When confronted about this problem the government said that they provide benefits and pointed the finger at dentists who refuse to accept Medicaid. The dentists say they can't afford to take Medicaid because of low reimbursement & slow pay. At the present time this stalemate shows no sign of being resolved.
In 2000 the Surgeon General reported that tooth decay is the most chronic ailment among children. A lot of people are in a tight budget and think that their & their children's teeth are healthy so they put off visiting the dentist. By this time there is pain the care needed has gotten a lot more expensive & already financially stretched families are left in a difficult situation. The result is millions of adults & children living with tooth pain that can easily turn into much more serious health problems.
Thousands of school days are lost every year due to tooth pain and experts say that as a nation we are in danger of having the dental health of a third world nation. As the richest country in the world this is unacceptable.
To see the ABC News Video visit: Discount Family Dental