Though about 60 million retired and disabled Americans depend upon Medicare for their health care coverage, the federal program has never included routine dental benefits.
A sizeable percentage of likely voters believe that should change, according to the results of a new poll. Continue reading
Photo: John Spade via Flickr
Congress returns from its summer recess with a full agenda. It’s probably not high on its to-do list, but many advocates of older Americans hope it will address several pieces of legislation introduced this year that could help many seniors better afford and access dental care, eyeglasses and hearing aids.
These are items that traditional Medicare doesn’t pay for but would make a world of difference in the health and well-being of older adults. Continue reading
More Americans are keeping their natural teeth throughout their lifetimes, federal research tells us.
Overall, the rate of U.S. adults who have experienced complete tooth loss fell from 9.3% in 2000 to 7% in 2017, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The trend holds true across all age groups, researchers found. Continue reading
Photo by Royal Navy Media Archive via Flickr
In the years since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), California has employed Medicaid expansion and the state health insurance marketplace – Covered California – to dramatically increase health care coverage.
Still, roughly 3 million state residents, many of them vulnerable, poor, young, old and/or undocumented remain medically uninsured. And more – far more – are dentally uninsured. Continue reading
Image by Paul Goyette via Flickr.
The California Dental Board is investigating the case of a 4-year-old boy who died after receiving anesthesia at an Oakland dental office.
The Dental Board of California has confirmed that it is investigating the death of a patient at the Oakland office of Youthful Tooth. In a written statement, the board declined to comment on the specifics of the case. Reporter Gwendolyn Wu offered these details in a May 16 story for the San Francisco Chronicle: Continue reading
Photo: Thomas Hawk via Flickr
Much remains unknown about the oral health status of more than two million incarcerated Americans, but research suggests that many dental needs go unmet behind bars.
Reporting on the problem can be challenging. But in a recent project we wrote about, Keri Blakinger, who covers breaking news, prisons and the death penalty for the Houston Chronicle, found a way to document the desperate wait for dentures in Texas state prisons. Continue reading