The number of people without some form of dental coverage is a lot higher than most people believe. It’s more than 100 million. That’s nearly a third of the population and almost triple the number of people without health insurance. In addition to the obvious effects of not being in pain and having a great smile, good dental hygiene has been linked to a number of health benefits such as reduced chances of heart disease.
With this in mind, it’s a real shame that the lack of dental coverage is largely an overlooked problem. Which isn’t to say that it isn’t covered at all. CBS ran a story on it back in 2008 (video below) and other major news stories pop up from time to time. Unfortunately, there’s such a lack of understanding about how dental insurance works that they sometimes fail to offer realistic solutions.
The CBS story is a great example. In it, they talk about the truly fantastic work the America’s Dentists Care Foundation is doing with their Missions of Mercy free dental care clinics. While highlighting these wonderful programs is a real boon to their mission, the undertone of the story is that this wouldn’t be necessary if these individuals could afford dental insurance.
While that is undoubtedly the case for some of the participants, the reality is that a lot of the major procedures being discussed in the video far exceed the annual – or even lifetime – benefits provided by dental insurance. A better story might help people find superior ways to manage their dental care. Yeah, we’re tooting our own horns, but we think that discount dental care is a major part of that.
At any rate, hats off to the America’s Dentists Care Foundation for their great work! It really is life changing for the people they serve. You can find their website to donate or find an upcoming event at http://www.adcfmom.org/.
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