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As chairman of theSenate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, I recently held a hearing about thedentalcarecrisis in the United States.
Ahead of that hearing, I asked Americansfromacross the country to share their experiences withdentalcarein our country.
The responses poured infrompeople who told us: “I am in constant pain,” “I can’t afforddentalcare,” “I can’t find a dentist,” “My insurance won’t cover thedentalprocedures I need,” and “I worry about my children’s health.”
If we are going to seriously address the dental crisis in America, Congress is going to have to act boldly. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
One personfromGeorgia told me that she has had temporary capsonher two front teeth after breaking them as a child. For 15 years, she hasn’t been able to afford permanent replacements. Her caps flake off into her food every time she eats.
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A gentlemanfromWisconsin shared that it will cost him $1,000 per tooth to get crowns to cover his cracked and broken teeth. He hasdentalinsurance, but they won’t cover the procedure.
These are the type of responses you might expect if we were living in a third world country.But we are living in the richest country in the history of the world.
Today in America, nearly 70 million adults and nearly 8 million children have nodentalinsurance. Many of those who do havedentalinsurance find that coverage to be totally inadequate.
In fact,nearly halfof Americans who havedentalinsurance have skipped their appointments because they could not afford to pay for the procedures they need.
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Nearly half of adults in America have some form of periodontal disease. (iStock)
Nearlyone out of every fiveseniors in America have lost all of their natural teeth and, many of them cannot afford dentures.
Among older Americans,70% have some sort of periodontal disease, which can lead to rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease.
Thedentalcrisis does not just impactseniors.
More than 40%of children in America have tooth decay by the time they reach kindergarten – primarily because their parents could either not afford or could not find a dentistontime.
The lack of affordabledentalcarein America is especially acute for low-income Americans, pregnant women, people with disabilities, veterans, those who live in rural communities, and Black, Latino and Native Americans.
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The situation has become so absurd, that every year hundreds of thousands of Americans travel to countries likeMexico, Costa Rica, India, Thailand and Hungary, where it is much less expensive to get thedentalcarethey need – even after paying for round-trip airfare and hotel stays.
When your teeth are in bad shape, you are at greater risk of diabetes, digestive problems and poor birth outcomes. (iStock)
And it’s not difficult to understand why:
A dental implant in America can cost about $5,500 compared to around $850 in Mexico, $800 in Costa Rica and $450 in India.The average price of a root canal in America is $1,275 compared to less than $250 in Mexico.A Zirconia crown in America can cost about $2,500 compared to around $500 in Mexico, $450 in Costa Rica and $215 in India.Dentures that cost about $1,800 in America can be purchased in Mexico for around $670.
Let’s be clear.When we talk aboutdentalcare, we’re not just talking about having straight teeth and a pretty smile.
If people don’t receive high-qualitydentalcarethey are in danger of living their lives in severe pain.
A major cause of absenteeismfromschool is toothaches anddentalpain.
Nearly half of adults in America have some form of periodontal disease, which makes them two to three times more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or some other serious cardiovascular emergency.
And when your teeth are in bad shape and you cannot chew your food properly, you are at greater risk of diabetes, digestive problems and poor birth outcomes.
In Vermont, 9 out of 11 health centers provide quality, affordable dental care to nearly 40,000 people. (iStock)
If we are going to seriously address thedentalcrisis in America, Congress is going to have to act boldly.
That is why I recently introduced the most comprehensive piece ofdentalcarelegislation in the history of our country.
Let me very briefly describe what this legislation would do.
First, it would substantially expand the number of dentists,dentalhygienists anddentaltherapists in America – particularly in rural and underserved areas. In my view, it is unacceptable that 67%of rural communities in America are designated asDentalProfessional Shortage Areas.What that means is that millions of rural Americans in our country either have to travel long distances to get to a dentist or simply go without thecarethey need. This bill would seriously address that issue.
Second, we need to make sure that the dentists we do have start serving more low-income people.In America today,only a third of our dentists providecareto people onMedicaid, andonly a very small percentage are providingcarefor those who are underserved.This legislation would address that issue by increasing reimbursement rates fordentalprocedures under Medicaid.
Nationally, 89% of health centers offer dental services. (iStock)
Third, we have got to substantially expand high quality and comprehensivedentalinsurance in America.It is unacceptable that about half of our nation’sseniors do not have comprehensivedentalinsurance because traditional Medicare does not cover mostdentalprocedures.It is also unacceptable that 12 million adults and children throughout the country lost Medicaiddentalcoverage last year.
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Further, when our nation’s veterans are 60% more likely to experience tooth decay than non-veterans, it makes nosense that the vast majority of veterans who receive medicalcarethrough the VA are not eligible fordentalcoverage.That is why this bill expands Medicare, Medicaid and the VA to provide comprehensivedentalcoverage to everysenior, veteran and low-income person in America and makesdentalcarean essential benefit under the AffordableCareAct.
Finally, this bill would substantially expanddentalcareservices that community health centers provide in schools and nursing homes all over America.In 2022, Federally Qualified Health Centers provideddentalcareto over 6 million people across the country regardless of their ability to pay.
More than 40% of children in America have tooth decay by the time they reach kindergarten. (iStock)
In my state of Vermont, 9 out of our 11 health centers provide quality, affordabledentalcareto nearly 40,000 people across the state. Moreover, most of the health centers in Vermont also offerdentalservices in schools.Nationally, 89% of health centers offereddentalservices.In my view, we should expanddentalcareto all health centers in America and that’s precisely what this bill would do.
All over America people are finding themselves in terrible pain. They can’t find a dentist to treat their problems.
It should not be a luxury in this country to keep the teeth in your mouth.
It is time for us to get our national priorities straight.
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Bernie Sanders is an independent who represents Vermont in the U.S. Senate.
