Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 59, Issue 4, July–August 2014, Page 190
Dental Abstracts

The Big Picture
Adults lack dental coverage

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2014.03.006Get rights and content

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Background

Most of us would agree that the mouth is an essential part of the body, but the health policies of the United States do not seem to consider it important for all persons. Although children's oral care is considered as an essential part of health care, adult oral care receives little or no support.

Care Profiles

Investments in low-income children's oral health and disease prevention efforts are seen as an excellent means to achieve lifetime gains in oral health. Medicaid enrollment for low-income children has increased in 47 of the 50 states, with some increases quite notable. The increased dental care use among Medicaid-enrolled children is attributed to reforms such as streamlined administrative processes, outreach efforts to patients and providers, and better provider incentives. However, the number

Causes

The downward trend in dental care use by adults reflects the change in dental benefits coverage that has occurred. The percentage of adults not covered by dental insurance has increased in the past 10 years. Although more adults are enrolled in Medicaid than previously, the Medicaid policy on dental benefits for them is to offer scaled back options only, or eliminate adult dental benefits altogether. As a result, adults—especially low-income adults—do not seek dental care from a private

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Vujicic M: A tale of two safety nets. J Am Dent Assoc 145:83-85, 2014

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