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Transcription
The speaker discusses the concept of dental deserts, which are areas with a shortage of dental health care professionals. The speaker shares personal experiences growing up in a rural community without access to dental care. They highlight the significant patient-to-dentist ratio in their hometown and compare it to the national average. Dental deserts are more prevalent in the South, with some counties having no dentists at all. The lack of access to oral health care can lead to untreated cavities and other serious health issues. The speaker questions why Medicaid programs do not provide comprehensive dental benefits and emphasizes the importance of improving access to dental care. Hey guys, it's Kara with my English 105 podcast on dental deserts. In a rural, unincorporated community of just over a thousand people, without one stoplight in the road, I often recognized one thing growing up. Deficiency. The absence of dental care in my community is something I started to notice early on in life. When I got braces, I realized other kids weren't. When I was late to school after going to my dentist appointments, I realized other kids weren't going. And it's hard to beg the question, am I irregular? Such an interesting thought to go on in a little girl's mind. She thought that maybe her family was going overboard in taking care of her, when in reality, those around her didn't go, and couldn't go, because of accessibility issues. I was in what I now know to be a dental desert. A dental desert is an area where there is a shortage of dental health care professionals, and because of this shortage, people often don't get the health care treatment they need. There are tons of dental deserts throughout the U.S., and I want to state now that the one I was in isn't close to the worst. According to the Center for Disease Control, a federal agency devoted to supporting health knowledge and disease prevention, the average patient-to-dentist ratio in 2020 was 1,562 patients to every one dentist. To put this into perspective, I want to compare this to the average patient-to-physician ratio. The average patient-to-physician ratio of regular doctors is only 355 patients to every one physician. In Stokes County, the small town where I'm from, the patient-to-dentist ratio graciously exceeded the 2020 average with a whopping 6,530 patients to every one dentist. That is an over 400% increase in patients to every dentist compared to the 2020 average. But again, I want to remind you that my hometown wasn't necessarily closest to being the worst. Dental deserts are, for whatever reason, more prevalent in the South, with the top 10 worst counties coming from Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The county crowned the worst in oral health care disparity, such a cute title, is Madison County, Georgia, with 30,460 patients to every one dentist. And I guess you could even count Madison County lucky, since 21 counties in the U.S. have no dentists. Without access to oral health care, getting or attending appointments is impossible. According to the CDC, one in four adults ages 20 to 64 have at least one untreated cavity. And while most Americans assume cavities aren't major health care concerns, this tooth decay can have massive impacts on a person's health. Tooth decay is one of the most unmet treatment needs that can impact speech, eating, and learning. Even further, they can lead to an abscess, which is a severe infection that can go under a person's gums and spread to other parts of the body. These abscesses can alter lives and even lead to death. In 2011, Jeffrey Charles William Michael Conway, the actor of Kinnicky in the movie Grease, died from an abscessed tooth that spread to his brain. With the realization that dental health is as important as your regular physician appointments, we have to ask the question of why Medicaid programs are not required to provide dental benefits, if we can call them that, generally. Medicaid is a federal and state program that gives health coverage to people with low incomes and limited resources. Allowing states to decide for themselves if dental health care is as important to include in Medicaid as physician appointments, this has created 15 states that have a variety of no coverage or only emergency coverage. For those who receive dental insurance through work, traditional Medicare doesn't cover routine dental care post-retirement, so many people lose this benefit when they retire. In summary, many places within the U.S. have little to no access to dental health care. These areas with little to no access are commonly called dental deserts. These are important because they contribute to decreasing health standards in communities and lead to people with untreated oral diseases. A solution to accessibility issues is obviously more dentists, but access and improved oral health care can also be achieved through Medicaid dental care coverage that isn't currently required by each state. However you think it's best to move forward, the next time you go to the dentist, be appreciative of your ability to have oral health care. There are many places across the U.S. and beyond that don't get that privilege.
