When you think of what kind of cases go into the emergency room each day, you usually don’t think of emergency dental care being on the list but the truth is Utah is seeing a growing trend of dentistry in the ER. According to a report by the Pew Center on the States, from 2006 to 2009 the number of dental ailments checking into the ER increased 21%. These include all kinds of cases from toothaches, to cavities and more.
This statistic alone shows that Utah’s current dental system is failing to meet our needs. Not only is there a shortage of dentists who accept Utah Medicaid insurance, but the insurance itself has placed restrictions and limitations that didn’t use to in place. In 2009, the state took away dental benefits for all adults except pregnant women. This leaves a large amount of our population with no dental insurance and they are forced to turn to the emergency room when pain gets unbearable. This attitude of waiting until there is a problem only creates more work and more financial responsibility on the state. So many issues can be avoided if routine dental check-ups and preventative care were emphasized instead of being unavailable. In 2009 just under $1 million was used of taxpayer’s money to cover emergency dental visits at the ER.
Patients have more treatments and options available to them when at the dentist office versus the hospital. Medical doctors usually will not complete dental extractions or other procedures due to the division of dentistry and medicine and the fear of repercussions. Usually, an emergency doctor will give a patient a prescription and call it good. Visiting the emergency room is not a long term solution for a dental emergency.
It’s possible that putting a better effort into educating Utah children about oral health will aid in reducing the alarmingly high number of dental emergencies. As of right now, of children 6 to 9 years of age over half of them have dental decay that is going untreated. Educating parents and children about the importance of home care and routine dental visits needs to be better communicated in order to give our children a chance at better overall health. As previously blogged about, oral health does affect the rest of the body. If left untreated, dental decay can lead to heart disease, pregnancy complications and other dangerous medical conditions.
Even here in our offices at Young Family Dental we see firsthand the need for something to change so that our population has better dental care available. We consistently are called upon by emergency room doctors for our dentists to treat patients with dire dental emergencies. Our doctors are some of the very few dentists certified and on staff at the local hospitals to be able to treat patients. Please don’t hesitate to call any of our offices with your dental concerns or questions. We are always happy to help. Please don’t wait for problems to occur to be concerned with your oral health; consistently keep up to date on your regular dental exams and cleanings. If you want to know more you can go to http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53653909-78/dental-patients-emergency-care.html.csp?page=3.
