State:: Colorado

Occupation:: Student, CNA

It is time for the government to make a difference in dental care, thus improving the lives of its people and reducing frivolous government spending!

By making dental care affordable and accessible to all Americans, the actual amount of healthcare costs for Medicaid will decrease. There are several ways of accomplishing a successful dental healthcare program. Through education of proper dental care and preventive treatment children and adults can have the added benefit of better health and fewer emergency room visits. To encourage dentist to participate in Medicaid and low cost dental care, the government must offer fair reimbursement for dental expenses. Another idea that the American Dental Association came up with was to create a position in the dental workplace similar to a nurse practitioner. By reducing amount of time and money spent for schooling, these trained practitioners would work under a dentist’s supervision, but be able to significantly increase the amount of patients being treated. The cost of preventative care, routine checkups, and minor dental work is significantly lower than the current cost of an ER visit and the patient would get real treatment for their problems. This is a solution that would benefit taxpayers, low income and uninsured dental patients, and the government all at the same time!