When will we see effort to address unaffordable dental care?

[Matty]

Dental care in America is not immune to high prices (of course you know who I blame for that, lol), but it seems like Obamacare, aside from child dental coverage, doesn't really address the issue. Do you think there hasn't been as much attention because dental health isn't as "important" to people as general health?

Do you think we'll eventually see some sort of obamacare for dental insurance? Not even democrats are mentioning it, and people don't really seem to be pushing for it.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Toothbrushes aren't too expensive, and pliers shouldn't run much higher. The rest is doable with little more than duct tape, a screwdriver (both literal and alcoholic), and WD40.

[7,052,770]

Dental insurance is tricky because you have to have a mechanism that prevents people from signing up, paying one month of premium (which often is in the $20-$40 range), getting a lot of work done, and canceling.

[Franzl]

I've never understood why dental and vision care are separated from the rest of health care. Does the rest of the world treat them as exceptions?

Actually, to be fair, often yes. I know of many healthcare systems where they're treated quite differently, including for those publicly insured in Germany. (Certain things are included here, but it often involves high co-payments.)

[Hatman 🍁]

Indeed, dental is not covered by our universal health care system either. I don't know about other provinces though.

[Indy Texas]

I've never understood why dental and vision care are separated from the rest of health care. Does the rest of the world treat them as exceptions? And at what point will my health insurance treat something like an infected tooth?

There's no such thing as a dental "emergency." Tooth problems happen slowly over months and years. There's no dental equivalent to a heart attack or cancer.

It's pretty much all preventive care - regular cleanings and x-rays. That would be like expecting your car insurance to pay for your oil change. You know you have to do it.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I've never understood why dental and vision care are separated from the rest of health care. Does the rest of the world treat them as exceptions? And at what point will my health insurance treat something like an infected tooth?

There's no such thing as a dental "emergency." Tooth problems happen slowly over months and years. There's no dental equivalent to a heart attack or cancer.

It's pretty much all preventive care - regular cleanings and x-rays. That would be like expecting your car insurance to pay for your oil change. You know you have to do it.

Of course there are such things as dental emergencies, even with regular checkups. If you get a tooth knocked out of your mouth while playing sports, that's a dental emergency. If a filling fails and becomes painfully infected between visits, that's a dental emergency.

FWIW, I was offered dental coverage when I signed up for Obamacare through Covered California.

[Citizen Hats]

My girlfriend's father in Ontario was once informed that his tooth infection would only become a provincial responsibility once it had reached the stage that it had spread to his brain.  Until it were allowed to become life-threatening, it was out of pocket. Luckily for him, that wasn't too much of an issue, but not everyone has a corporate exec salary with which to pay dental bills

[OAM]

Indeed, cavities are an easy way to get a jaw infection too, in addition to what the previous posters have said.

I'll also add in that my insurance through Obamacare included Dental too, which I actually didn't realize till a few weeks ago.

[Matty]

Really? I thought I read somewhere that Obamacare doesn't really address dental.

[Blue3]

In Rhode Island, it includes dental, but we also have a state exchange so maybe that's why.

[7,052,770]

Really? I thought I read somewhere that Obamacare doesn't really address dental.

It doesn't really add any new dental regulations, but a lot of companies with insurance on the exchanges are also offering dental. It's all up to the companies.

[memphis]

Dental insurance is tricky because you have to have a mechanism that prevents people from signing up, paying one month of premium (which often is in the $20-$40 range), getting a lot of work done, and canceling.

How does it work? I need my wisdom teeth out.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Dental insurance is tricky because you have to have a mechanism that prevents people from signing up, paying one month of premium (which often is in the $20-$40 range), getting a lot of work done, and canceling.

How does it work? I need plmy wisdom teeth out.

Most dental plans have a yearly benefits cap on claims, which can often be so low as to be the price of one root canal (or a few smaller procedures). And they seldom cover 100% of claims. It's more like having a dental discount plan that you pay for.

[Slander and/or Libel]

Dental insurance is tricky because you have to have a mechanism that prevents people from signing up, paying one month of premium (which often is in the $20-$40 range), getting a lot of work done, and canceling.

How does it work? I need plmy wisdom teeth out.

Most dental plans have a yearly benefits cap on claims, which can often be so low as to be the price of one root canal (or a few smaller procedures). And they seldom cover 100% of claims. It's more like having a dental discount plan that you pay for.

Not only that, but the amount that they'll cover slides down as the cost of the procedure slides up. If you're going for a cheap checkup and don't need anything special done, dental insurance struts up, cracks its knuckles and goes, "It's OK, I'll cover this one." If you have to have a root canal, dental insurance drops 50% of the cost on the ground and then bolts, never to be seen again.

[Matty]

I have done some research, and I was surprised to learn that many countries that provide universal healthcare do not publicly fund dental care at the same level.

For example, nearly all of dental funding in Canada is private, and only 45% of British folks are registered with a public dentist.

To me, this is interesting, and dental care is one of the most sought after treatments.

[politicallefty]

I'd really like to know how it can be justified that a root canal plus a crown can cost up to $2000 for a single tooth. In terms of time actually with the dentist, the total process including the follow-up is no more than 2-3 hours max. Insurance is one thing, but how exactly do you get the astronomical costs of certain procedures down to a reasonable level?

I have done some research, and I was surprised to learn that many countries that provide universal healthcare do not publicly fund dental care at the same level.

For example, nearly all of dental funding in Canada is private, and only 45% of British folks are registered with a public dentist.

That actually surprises me. I thought this country was bad with roughly 100 million Americans without dental insurance, but even that number is probably better than at least several other similar industrialized countries.

[memphis]

The cost of dental care is nowhere near the cost of "regular" medical treatment. The ACA is not concerned with bills of a thousand dollars or so. A hospital stay, even one that's only a few days, will cost tens of thousands of dollars, and almost nobody is ever able to pay off that staggering sum. A dental visit may bust your budget for a few months, but it's not a life altering event the way medical bills can be for the uninsured.

[Indy Texas]

I don't have dental insurance. It makes no sense for me to buy it to have two cleanings done per year. I've never had a cavity in my life. And my neanderthal-sized jawbones have allowed me to keep my wisdom teeth without any problems.

Beyond that, pretty much all dental problems are caused by people who never learned how to take care of their teeth when they were growing up. Not brushing/flossing regularly. Smoking cigarettes. Eating as much processed sugar-coated stuff as possible. And if you ask them about the horrendous state of their teeth, they'll say something to the effect of "I got soft teeth - they run in muh family."