By Eliza Bussey
WASHINGTON, May 25 (Reuters Health) -The first Surgeon General report on
oral health shows "profound disparities" in rates of dental and oral diseases
across the US population. At a Washington press conference Thursday, Surgeon
General David Satcher called on the government and private health insurance
companies to provide better oral health care coverage for all Americans.
"During the last 50 years there have been dramatic improvements in oral
health, and most middle-aged and younger Americans will retain their natural
teeth over their lifetime, and that's the good news," Satcher said. "The bad
news is that we have found profound disparities that affects poor Americans, the
elderly, children, and members of racial and ethnic groups."
Satcher emphasized the relationship between oral health and overall health.
"The mouth is a mirror of the body, a sentinel of disease," Satcher said,
emphasizing that good oral health and general health are inseparable, and cited
research linking chronic oral infections and diabetes, heart and lung disease,
stroke.
Satcher cited major barriers to oral health care including lack of dental
insurance, and inability to pay out of pocket expenses. "While 44 million
Americans lack medical insurance, about 108 million lack dental insurance. Only
60% of baby boomers receive dental insurance through their employers, and older
workers lose dental insurance at retirement," he said.
The Surgeon General's report also found that uninsured children are 2.5
times less likely to receive dental care than insured children, and that
children from families without dental insurance are 3 times as likely to have
dental needs as compared to families with insurance.
"I am calling on the government to take the first step by providing better
oral health care for Medicaid and Medicare recipients, and am urging private
insurance companies to do the same," Satcher told Reuters Health in an interview
after the briefing.
Satcher urged the use of common preventive tactics, including brushing after
meals with fluoride toothpaste, and flossing daily. The report reiterated the
importance of general health risk factors such as tobacco and alcohol use.
In 1998 dental expenditures represented 4.7% of the nation's health
costs--$53.8 billion out of $1.1 trillion.
