US health reforms on insurance neglect dental care for children from low-income families

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Unlike Britons reliance on NHS dental provision in Britain, many Americans predominantly rely on dental insurance to cover the cost of dental treatments. New US health reforms compel adults to buy health insurance by 2014 but not dental coverage. Yet research shows that 45 million Americans do not have dental insurance, and poor dental health leads to diseases such as caries and periodontitis which affect overall health that can result in migraine, hypertension and heart disease.

Concerns have been raised by one of America’s leading dental practice management firms, FORBA, that the lack of dental coverage for adults will translate to inadequate dental care for children, especially from low-income households. Further perturbing issues include the down-playing of insufficient oral health care in low-income families in recent US government reports.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics reveal that unlike children from affluent families, a higher percentage of disadvantaged children have untreated tooth decay, are five times at higher risk of cavities, and are fifty percent less likely to have a dental checkup within a year.

The reason that children from low-income households do not have their needed oral health examinations is because the adults lack the insurance making their dental care affordable. As low-income parents are not in the position to have regular dental check-ups, the children suffer too. FORBA are campaigning for changes in US government policy to make dental coverage more affordable for low-income families, for parents and their children.

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