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Moving Dental Health Into Primary Care

Moving Dental Health Into Primary Care
by Elizabeth Whitman

About a year and a half ago, Brandee Winter took her son to a dentist for an abscessed tooth. The dentist's office pulled the tooth and did a cleaning, she recalled. The bill came to $400.

She and her husband own a diner in Winston, Ore. Because they were self-employed, they couldn't afford dental insurance. She paid the stiff price out-of-pocket.

“He needed it done, because he was in pain,” Winter said of her son, who is 9. “We took our savings and went and did it.”

This past summer, when her son's tooth had some suspicious coloring to it, Winter was relieved to learn that the WIC office in Myrtle Creek, Ore., where she and her family live, was offering free preventive dental services. She had gone to the benefits office for a check-up for her youngest, a 3-year-old daughter, and a hygienist there told Winter she could bring in all four of her children, including her son, who is the eldest.

The hygienist checked her son's tooth and cleaned his teeth. She applied a sealant, which prevents tooth decay, on teeth that needed it. She checked the teeth of Winter's other children, too. She gave all of them toothbrushes, floss and timers, and showed them how to use them.

“This is such a blessing for families who are in situations like mine,” said Winter. “Either you save your money and pay cash to see a dentist, or you don't go at all.”

Winter's experience is not unusual in the U.S., where the No. 1 reason people avoid going to the dentist, whether they have dental insurance or not, is cost. And in the end, the healthcare system and patient pay the price.

Read full article on Modern Healthcare.