Millions of Americans Lack Access to Essential Oral Health Care

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Millions of Americans are not receiving needed dental care services because of "persistent and systemic" barriers that limit their access to oral health care, says a new report by the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council.  To remove these barriers -- which disproportionately affect children, seniors, minorities, and other vulnerable populations -- the report recommends changing funding and reimbursement for dental care; expanding the oral health work force by training doctors, nurses, and other nondental professionals to recognize risk for oral diseases; and revamping regulatory, educational, and administrative practices.

The report says that economic, structural, geographic, and cultural factors contribute to this problem.  For example, approximately 33.3 million people live in areas with shortages of dental health professionals.  In 2008, 4.6 million children did not obtain needed dental care because their families could not afford it.  And in 2006, only 38 percent of retirees had dental coverage, which is not covered by Medicare.

Lack of regular oral health care has serious consequences, the report says, including increased risk of respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, as well as inappropriate use of hospital emergency departments for preventable dental diseases.  The report offers a vision of oral health care in which prevention of oral diseases and promotion of oral health are a priority and a facet of overall health.

Although all states must provide comprehensive dental benefits for children enrolled in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), they are not required to provide such benefits for adults.  Because publicly funded programs are the primary source of health coverage for underserved populations, including dental benefits for all Medicaid beneficiaries is a critical and necessary goal, the report says.  Toward that end, the committee recommended that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services fund and evaluate state-based demonstration projects that cover essential oral health benefits for adult Medicaid beneficiaries…

The full news release can be found online at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=13116

A one-hour public briefing on the report will be held today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., beginning at 1 p.m. EDT. Those who cannot attend may participate through a live video webcast accessible at http://www.national-academies.org.  The video will be archived online afterward.

For additional resources visit, http://www.iom.edu/Activities/HealthServices/OralHealthAccess/2011-JUL-13.aspx

SOURCE Institute of Medicine and National Research Council