Dental, or oral health, is often overlooked. Would it surprise you to know that tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease; five times more common than asthma. Untreated tooth decay has been associated with eating, learning and speech problems and diminished self-esteem in children, a Kansas website reported Saturday.
The Mercy Clinic has a "dental day" every Friday for those who qualify. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Dentists in the Athens area have been more responsive than doctors at giving their time to the Mercy Clinic. With dental work like "fillings" and "root canals" being very expensive these days, this is a wonderful service to provide.
The American Dental Association has a ton of reports on the state of the dental workforce in America. See more at www.ada.org
Dental insurance policies are usually not a great deal, and most people do not have them. Therefore, we often wait to go to the dentist when there is problem. When is the last time you had your teeth cleaned? Maybe you should make that appointment this week.
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3 comments:
That is so true about dental insurance. I currently don't have any, but really need to get a new partial, which costs about $1000. And even when I had insurance, costs were prohibitive. Yikes. But the saying is true: "Ignore your teeth and they'll go away."
My husband has family dental insurance; it's fairly inexpensive and includes two "free" check-ups each year and pays about half of major dental procedures. I'm really glad that the dentists in our area are stepping up to the plate and providing dental care for people without insurance.
I have a dentist visit coming up in the next two weeks. I think that I often take it for granted and don't realize how fortunate I am to have such care. I've also been told that oral health is even related to the health of your heart.
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