Now we're talking

Dental Crisis in America

"As a nation, we don't talk about it much but there is a dental crisis in America," Sen. Bernie Sanders said Wednesday at a Senate hearing he chaired. A new report released at the hearing said more than 47 million people live in places where it is difficult to access dental care. More than 130 million Americans do not have dental insurance. One quarter of U.S. adults ages 65 or older have lost all of their teeth. About 17 million low-income children do not see a dentist each year. Only 45 percent of Americans age 2 and older saw a dental provider in the past 12 months. In Vermont, Sanders noted, there has been progress.
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Sanders' subcommittee also heard evidence that more and more Americans are turning to expensive hospital emergency room care for routine dental problems. Nationwide, the number of ER visits for dental problems rose 16 percent from 2006 to 2009, according to a study presented at the hearing by the Pew Center on the States. In Florida alone, there were more than 115,000 hospital ER visits for dental problems in 2010 with costs of more than $88 million.