From our decades of working with low-income and disadvantaged people in Washington, it is obvious that oral health is an overlooked and critical need in our state. Too often discussions about healthcare don't even include oral health, as if the mouth is somehow separate from the body. This needs to change. Oral health is a key component of overall health. That is why it is wrong to end dental coverage for the most vulnerable in our society, even when budgets are tight. All people should have access to healthcare, including dental care.
Yet Governor Gregoire's proposed supplemental budget would eliminate all non-emergency dental care for Medicaid-insured adults including pregnant women, seniors in nursing homes and people with developmental disabilities.
This cut goes too far and in the long run it will end up costing far more than it will "save" in terms of both health and financial impacts. The state already eliminated dental care for the majority of low-income adults last year. Now they want to go even further and balance the budget by tearing more holes in the safety net for the most vulnerable in our state.
Dental disease is progressive. In the early stages it can be stopped or even reversed.
But as the disease progresses, it becomes more difficult and more expensive to treat. Without intervention, tooth decay and gum infections can cause life-threatening complications and sometimes even death. Dental disease has been linked to diabetes, heart disease and strokes.
Under the Governor's proposal more than 30,000 low-income pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid each year would lose dental coverage. This would be a bad policy decision because dental care during pregnancy can promote healthier pregnancies and lead to better oral health for thousands of mothers and their children. The bacteria that cause tooth decay are often transmitted from moms to babies.
It makes good sense to prevent dental disease and invest in early care before problems get more difficult and expensive to treat.
Research shows that children who receive preventive treatment early in life have dental costs that are nearly 50 percent lower than those whose oral health is neglected. In Washington, Medicaid spent more than $87 million in 2010 treating children for dental disease. Many of these costs can be reduced if prevention is a priority.
Until last year, Washington state covered dental care for all Medicaid-eligible adults.
This wise investment saved money for taxpayers over the long term. This program should be restored.
Dental disease has serious consequences for people's everyday lives. Kids with poor oral health are less able to learn. Adults with dental problems have difficulty finding jobs. Seniors with oral disease often don't get proper nutrition. Low-income people without access to dental care are forced to seek expensive emergency room care, which leads to higher health costs for everyone.
As legislators struggle to balance the budget, we must not continue cutting programs that help the neediest in our society.
It makes little sense to take away dental care from low-income residents whose health -- in the case of frail seniors or people with developmental disabilities -- may already be impaired or from pregnant women at a critical time in their lives and the lives of the children.
With the growing recognition that oral health is a critical part of overall health, there should be a statewide commitment to ensure that dental care is a critical benefit available to people who are struggling.
Dental disease affects almost everyone at some point. Nearly every American will experience some aspect of this chronic infectious disease, which gets worse with time and will not get better without intervention.
Workers lose 164 million work hours and children miss 51 million hours of school each year due to dental disease and dental appointments.
Dental disease is a drain on economic productivity, a leading cause of school absenteeism and a contributor to higher health care costs. It is also costly to individuals who bear the stigma, terrible pain and health consequences of untreated oral disease.
It is time to stop viewing poor oral health as anything less than a serious health concern. When making decisions about the current budget, legislators need to be reminded that a cut to dental care is a cut to overall health care. Preventing dental disease by providing access to timely, effective dental care saves money and, more importantly, saves lives. Legislators need to protect the oral health -- and overall health -- of the most vulnerable in our society.