It can often be hard for those more affluent to understand how others are unable to afford many things that are often either taken for granted or viewed as necessities. Take dental care provision. It may seem inconsequential on the financial radar, but, for many it is an expense too far. This can have devastating effects for people on low incomes, particularly when problems like tooth infections escalate into something far more serious and life-threatening. Believe it or not, it is not just America's 47 million uninsured that face this problem. Those covered by Medicaid, the federal health-insurance program specifically for the poor, also face a thoroughly iniquitous situation. The main problem is that the reimbursement rate for dentists under the Medicaid program is simply so low that many dentists refuse to accept Medicaid patients. This effectively disbars poor people from receiving dental care, leading to a rationed system.

The most obvious way to address the problem would be to raise Medicaid dental payments to dentists to reflect market rates, thereby ending the system of rationing. This would be doubly effective (and desirable) among children, where preventative care is not only comparatively cheap, it is also cost-effective.

Education is also an important factor, as those from poorer sections of the community may not have such immediate access to vital information regarding healthcare. Schools could also play a role, holding regular dental screenings alongside coordinated dental health care awareness programmes.

The most important thing, however, is to redress the problem created by injudicious levels of payments to Medicaid dentists, and pay them a fair market rate for treating those on Medicaid-particularly children. After all, in any economy, money talks. So let's see it talk on behalf of the poor for the benefit of their dental and general health, and give more people something to smile about.




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