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"Seeing the Invisible: Desperate for dental work, an all-night wait" [View all]
Published: August 24, 2013
By Gene Nichol UNC Professor
At the end of July, the N.C. Dental Society’s Missions of Mercy spearheaded a massive, two-day free clinic at the Crown Expo Center in Fayetteville. More than 200 dental professionals and nearly 500 other volunteers ensured that nearly 900 grateful souls received desperately needed extractions, fillings, dentures and cleanings – procedures that would have cost half a million dollars on the market. It was a smorgasbord of generosity, accompanied by a heaping helping of gratitude. I’ve never seen anything like it.
....
Twenty-three percent of North Carolinians have no health care coverage – one of the highest rates in the nation. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that for every person without health insurance, three don’t have dental coverage. Medicaid sharply limits adult dental services, and private insurance often doesn’t cover dentistry.
....
Limited access to dental services plagues us as well. North Carolina ranks 47th in dentists per capita. Only 16 percent of our dentists accept Medicaid. In four counties (Currituck, Hyde, Perquimans and Tyrell), none does. Judy Klinck of Better Health, another nonprofit co-sponsor, explained: “No one familiar with health care in North Carolina could be surprised at the gigantic lines.”
Almost to emphasize the point, two days after the Fayetteville clinic, the Robeson County Health Department announced it was closing its dental facility, which had been operating 13 years. Director Bill Smith indicated the General Assembly’s refusal to expand Medicaid had sounded the death knell.
....
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/24/3130709/desperate-for-dental-work-an-all.html#storylink=cpy
By Gene Nichol UNC Professor
At the end of July, the N.C. Dental Society’s Missions of Mercy spearheaded a massive, two-day free clinic at the Crown Expo Center in Fayetteville. More than 200 dental professionals and nearly 500 other volunteers ensured that nearly 900 grateful souls received desperately needed extractions, fillings, dentures and cleanings – procedures that would have cost half a million dollars on the market. It was a smorgasbord of generosity, accompanied by a heaping helping of gratitude. I’ve never seen anything like it.
....
Twenty-three percent of North Carolinians have no health care coverage – one of the highest rates in the nation. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that for every person without health insurance, three don’t have dental coverage. Medicaid sharply limits adult dental services, and private insurance often doesn’t cover dentistry.
....
Limited access to dental services plagues us as well. North Carolina ranks 47th in dentists per capita. Only 16 percent of our dentists accept Medicaid. In four counties (Currituck, Hyde, Perquimans and Tyrell), none does. Judy Klinck of Better Health, another nonprofit co-sponsor, explained: “No one familiar with health care in North Carolina could be surprised at the gigantic lines.”
Almost to emphasize the point, two days after the Fayetteville clinic, the Robeson County Health Department announced it was closing its dental facility, which had been operating 13 years. Director Bill Smith indicated the General Assembly’s refusal to expand Medicaid had sounded the death knell.
....
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/24/3130709/desperate-for-dental-work-an-all.html#storylink=cpy
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