Discussions of consumers seeking primary care in emergency rooms tend to overlook dental problems. However, these visits are skyrocketing and may lead to the discovery of more serious health problems, according to a report in USA Today.
ER visits doubled from 1.1 million in 2000 to 2.2 million in 2012, or one visit every 15 seconds, according to the American Dental Association.
"This is something I deal with daily," said Dr. George Kushner, director of the oral and maxillofacial surgery program at the University of Louisville told USA Today. "And there is not a week that goes by that we don't have someone hospitalized. People still die from their teeth in the United States."
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Unbearable pain drives people to the ER, and 85 percent of visits are by the uninsured or consumers with government insurance plans. Hospitals are legally required to treat patients, even if they can't pay. However, ER visits cost more than three times as much as a routine dental visit, averaging $749 if the patient isn't hospitalized—and costing the U.S. health care system $1.6 billion a year.
More than one-third of working-age adults and 64 percent of seniors had no dental insurance in 2012, and those with Medicaid dental plans often can't find a provider. About four in 10 adults made no dental visits last year, and 20 percent of seniors live with untreated cavities.
In tough times, "dental care is something people put off to the very end," failing to realize it's crucial to overall health, said Dr. Michael McCunniff, chairman of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Department of Public Health and Behavioral Science.
Community-based treatment is a far better option, dentists say. Community health centers with dental clinics offer one longstanding alternative for low-cost care, and another new option involves university dental school clinics.
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Alan Goforth
Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.
