California seniors lack dental care
The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday on a survey that indicates that men and women over 60 “lack adequate insurance and cannot afford oral healthcare.” Link to full story:
Older L.A. County adults suffer from inadequate dental care
Dr. Roseann Mulligan, an expert in geriatric dentistry at USC, said she was not surprised to learn that so many older Angelenos were lacking in dental coverage and care.“
They’re on a limited income,” she said. “They have to pick and choose. . . . Dental insurance for seniors is virtually nonexistent, and unless you’re able to pay out of pocket, you frequently don’t get dental care.”
Increasing numbers of seniors and Baby Boomers are heading out of the country for dental and other medical care when they cannot afford it in the U.S. — especially when the work required is major.
Preventative care is key to long-term oral health at any age, according to Telma Rubinstein at Prisma Dental in Costa Rica.
“So often, we see patients who have not been able to have adequate care for too long,” she commented. “They end up needing far more extensive work, with implants, than perhaps they would have needed just a year or two before.”
Costs are substantially less in at Prisma than in Costa Rica and, frequently, dental work that a patient might think is beyond his or her means can be affordable.
