CHICAGO, Illinois – In an ongoing effort to better address unmet oral health needs, the American Dental Association (ADA) will once again join thousands of individuals and organizations across the country in observing Cover the Uninsured Week, a national call during the week of April 23–29 for meaningful steps toward helping the millions of Americans who lack adequate access to health care.

ADA President Kathleen Roth, D.D.S., testified in March before the Health Subcommittee of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on improving access to dental care. Dr. Roth urged the subcommittee to reform Medicaid in order to better address unmet oral health needs. As part of her testimony, Dr. Roth recalled the case of Deamonte Driver, a Maryland child who was unable to receive dental care and later died from complications from an abscessed tooth.

“The need for better dental access is particularly acute among children—for every child without health coverage, 2.6 children lack dental coverage,” Dr. Roth said recently.

The ADA has long advocated for adequately funding existing programs, like Medicaid and SCHIP, and ensuring that those programs provide comprehensive preventive and restorative dental services to eligible people to help alleviate disparities. The ADA also supports such commonsense, market-based solutions as expanding use of health savings and flexible spending accounts through tax and other incentives.

“As the number of uninsured Americans increases, the need to address the problem becomes more critical,” Dr. Roth said. “We are proud to be a national supporter of Cover the Uninsured Week,and we encourage our members to get involved in activities taking place in their communities.”

For more information about Access to Oral Health Care issues from the ADA, visit http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/topics/access.asp. For more information about Cover the Uninsured Week, visit www.covertheuninsured.org Link opens in separate window. Pop-up Blocker may need to be disabled..

About the American Dental Association
The not-for-profit ADA is the nation's largest dental association, representing more than 155,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public's health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA's state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance long has been a valuable and respected guide to consumer and professional products. www.ada.org.

SOURCE: American Dental Association

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