Posted 10/06/17
We in the dental community have been talking about the link between oral infections/ inflammation and systemic disease for some time. Heart disease, stroke, alzheimers, some cancers, control of diabetes are all linked to oral disease. Finally private insurance carriers have gotten the message. Their own financial statistics back up the general health benefits of dental care. An assessment by Optum for United Healthcare found that people with chronic conditions (eg, typeII Diabetes, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), coronary artery disease (CAD), asthma, congestive heart failure and renal diseases, who received preventive dental care saved on average $1,107. per year compared to those who did not receive such care. Maybe we will see more insurance carriers offerring affordable preventive dental coverage!
