Nearly 35% of Americans say they haven't visited the dentist in a year. To those with adequate dental coverage this number might seem shocking, but it's a powerful indicator of the growing dichotomy between the haves and have nots…having teeth that is. In the poorest states in the union the percentage can be almost 50% - in Mississippi for example 47% of those asked said they haven't seen a dentist in years. Meanwhile Massachusetts, the third wealthiest state in the U.S., enjoys being the state with the best dental hygiene. Whatever your political ideology you can't ignore the correlation between poverty and poor dental care.

Dentists don't want it to be this way. Like any other person that earns money through a service, however specialized, dentists and other dental professionals are always welcome to broadening their clientele. The estimated quarter of Americans with untreated cavities and other mounting maladies of the mouth could be a big boom for those whose business is caring for teeth. The problem is these individuals simply don't have the monetary means to do so.

This problem is amplified by the fact that overseas in the UK, where citizens are offered the option for dental coverage through the single-payer National Health Service; public officials are noting similar dental neglect among their poorer inhabitants. Remember all those jokes about the British and their teeth? Statistically speaking we aren't much better, and considering they've got access to cheaper options our poor mostly don't, our problem could get much worse.

The healthcare reform law passed last year won't make much of a difference either. The sweeping mandates barely touch teeth. If anything is going to curb the looming oral hygiene crisis in this country (if you don't already accept that we're in one) it's going to be another sweeping change in healthcare law, only as it applies to the science of caring for the mouth.

It aggravates a lot of people that healthcare and dental care are a divided aspect of life. But the intricate study of oral care and the delicate dental skills one must acquire to work on the mouth are hard earned talents. Not that standard healthcare talent isn't as hard earned, but to make it as simple as possible: they're just priced differently. Maybe we need to figure out a new way of looking at healthcare economy.

Photo Credits: Jinx!

Originally posted 2011-05-07 20:56:14. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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General Health, Health and Wellness

Tags:

cavities, clientele, dental care, dental coverage, dental hygiene, dental professionals, dentists, healthcare law, healthcare reform, mandates, national health service, oral hygiene, political ideology