Cost Outweighs Dental Health Problems in America

A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that the principal reason adults have skipped their dentist appointment for dental health problems and routine checkups lies in their wallets.

 Over 17,000 men and women were interviewed about their oral health and access to dental care—with shocking results. Of those surveyed whom have not seen a dentist in the past six months, 42% said they could not afford treatment nor did they have dental insurance or a Discount Dental Plan.

The bottom line weighed so heavily on Americans’ pockets that more than one-half of uninsured adults had unmet dental needs due to cost.

The report also found that adults enrolled in Medicaid were almost five times as likely than those with private health insurance to have poor dental health, and that Medicaid adults (21%) were almost twice as likely as adults overall (12%) to not have had a dental visit in more than 5 years.

With soaring health care costs, the need for affordable, budget-conscious options is fueling a new wave of dental care alternatives. Several TV news outlets across the country have been reporting on how to score discounts at the dentist, even without insurance.

Check out this story on Yahoo! News from WXYZ-TV in Detroit.

Has cost kept you from the dentist? Let us know in the comments below.