Reply #16: What I find most disturbing about this story is yet another reminder that "dental health" is somehow [View All]

[sohndrsmith]

separate and ignored from "health" as far as coverage/insurance is concerned - as if our teeth are viewed as being mysteriously separate from the rest of one's physical body. Dental diseases and conditions can be fatal.

Why we have no accessible preventative dental program is beyond me. It's far easier to prevent than to cure - certainly with dental issues this is the case. Eye health is often ignored too. Funny, I always thought we were born with our eyes and our teeth develop naturally. I don't recall there being a choice in the matter.

Eyes and teeth are no different than one's hip, skin, spine, lymph nodes, fingernails or spinal cord. They're not something we can opt out of, they are part of our physical selves. And as such they can acquire diseases, conditions and problems, many of which affect our other systems, some of which lead to far more serious problems, including fatal ones.

It's as if having eyes and teeth is something we "choose" to have or purchase for ourselves at some point and therefore don't matter - or seemingly implicated by many insurers as "not their problem" and simply won't recognize them... "Your eyes and teeth? Heck man, that's YOUR responsibility - you're on your own. We only deal with medical coverage." Wait. What?

Seems crazy to me...