By Kristen Mizzi Angelone, Andrew Peters, and Jane Koppelman, The Pew Charitable Trusts
"Millions of Americans suffer from preventable dental disease. Many struggle to access dental care, particularly low-income families, people of color, seniors, and those living in areas with a shortage of dentists. In addition to negatively affecting overall health and well-being, lack of access to care also puts a significant strain on state and federal health care spending. When patients do not have access to a dentist, their oral health care needs often go unaddressed until the pain becomes so severe they seek relief in an emergency room. The American Dental Association estimates that in 2012, the U.S. health care system spent $1.6 billion on dental-related emergency room visits.
Three evidence-based policy solutions to these oral health access problems gained ground at the local, state, and national levels in 2015: workforce innovation, school-based sealant programs, and community water fluoridation."
