Dental care growing concern for U.S. seniors
The Baltimore Sun, in a story today, quotes experts as saying that dental care for seniors is a major issue — one that will only become more acute as the population ages. Many lack insurance coverage, money and specialists, the headline warns.
Many of Prisma’s patients have been older Americans in exactly the situations described by the newspaper article, coming to Costa Rica for high quality dental work they cannot afford at home.
“… About 12 years ago, Carrie Lemon started losing teeth. One by one, to curb pain, Lemon had most of her teeth extracted.
“Today, at 72, she has only six left. Eating has become a daily chore, and Lemon wants desperately to be fitted for a set of dentures. ‘I’ve just been going from one dentist to another, but all of them tell me that our medical system doesn’t cover it,” Lemon said. “I don’t have the money to get them.’ “
According to Dr. Richard H. Price, a spokesman for the American Dental Association, “Twenty-five million adults forgo dental care because they can’t afford it. A goodly amount are seniors.”
Dr. Telma Rubinstein of Prisma agreed with the ADA that seniors often need to see the dentist more often, not less, than when they were younger. “People are living longer and they need their teeth longer. “It is a health issue. It is a quality of life issue,” she commented. “For many Americans, we are the affordable dental option, especially for whole mouth reconstruction and dental implants.”
