Naval restorative dentist submits study addressing the lack of accessibility to dental care in Florida
July 9, 2013
Kimberly Henley-Brown, DDS, MHA, is a naval reserves dental officer in Jacksonville, Florida, so she knows the landscapeshe presents in a recent study (yet to be published).
Florida is in 29th place out of all 50 states for its dentist-to-population ratio, which is currently 1:1,961. Since most of Florida could be considered a dental health professional shortage area (dental HPSA), Dr. Henley-Brown suggests that the state of Florida take some measures to improve the lives of its citizens. Indeed, 64 out of 67 counties include a shortage area – that is, if the entire county hasn’t been designated a dental HPSA. That leaves 20% of the population living in one.
Dentists have the best job in 2013
According to the Pew Center, 830,000 emergency room visits were the result of preventable dental health issues in 2009. Because treating preventable diseases is a lot more expensive than preventing them in the first place, Dr. Henley-Brown has a few suggestions on how to improve access to oral health care; it is, after all, a leading indicator of a person’s overall health, according to a 2012 study by the Department of Health.
Her suggestions are as follows:
- Branches of the military should work with Delta Dental to lower the cost of members’ monthly premiums to help military personnel access care
- Insurance should cover all preventive procedures
- Employers should implement wellness initiatives
- State and federal governments should change legislation and increase funding to expand access to care for those in HPSAs
- Medicaid reimbursement should be higher
- Alternate providers should be used – professionals such as dental therapists (DT)or advanced dental hygiene practitioners (ADHP) – something theADA opposes
- Florida should implement theAffordable Care Act
- The University of Florida should train its dental students in underserved areas
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Perhaps Florida will follow in South Dakota’s footsteps, when, after receiving a “D” on the Pew Center report on dental prevention, the state passed the South Dakota Dental Practice Act, allowing dental hygienists to provide basic dental care to patients before a dentist has assessed their oral health.
Map of Florida's dental HPSAs taken from this map.
