While the ACA authors' focus on dental care for children partially springs from a belief that adults should be allowed a little more leeway in how to manage their health than children, it is also based on evidence that dental health is largely shaped by regular visits to the dentist during childhood, including biannual fluoride treatments.

The study authors put particular emphasis on the role the ACA's expansion of Medicaid had on increasing overall dental coverage for youngsters.

Dental benefits for Medicaid enrollees differs significantly based on state. Four states to not extend any dental care to beneficiaries, while 15 only cover emergency dental services.

Society pays a price for keeping the poor away from the dentist, the study argues.

"If an imbalance exists between barriers and enabling factors, a patient may have a higher chance of having unmet dental needs because of cost, which leads to delayed diagnosis of issues, more complex treatment, and ultimately increased burden on public health systems," the authors write.

While many markets throughout the country saw a decrease in the number of health plans offered through the ACA marketplace, there was not a similar decline in the selection of dental plans on the state and federal exchanges.

In fact, a separate study published in JADA last month found that most counties saw either the same number of standalone dental plans or medical plans that include dental benefits or experienced an increase.