Experts scramble to address lack of access to dental care, high oral health disease burden in Alabama
Alabama may rank among the states with the poorest access to dental care, leading to delayed treatments and significant unmet dental needs.
The ADA revealed that Alabama had the second lowest ratio of practicing dentists to state residents in 2023, with 41.6 per 100,000 individuals compared with the national average of about 60, according to a news report from AL.com. While some counties in Alabama have a large proportion of their dentists reaching retirement age, others may have no practicing dentists. As a result, many patients may face long wait times for treatment and may be required to travel long distances to reach a dentist. Shortages in dental professionals able to provide routine care and treatment has been shown to impact vulnerable populations — particularly children, individuals with disabilities and those residing in rural areas of Alabama.
Experts cited in the article suggested that the state’s low insurance reimbursement rates coupled with rising practice expenses has forced some dentists to take on a high number of patients to make up for the costs of providing care. Some dentists noted that they were unable to accept children on Medicaid because, with the low reimbursement rates, they were losing money treating these patients. Further, Medicaid in Alabama doesn’t cover dental procedures, thereby passing on costs to the patients.
The experts suggested that Alabama should follow the lead of states like Massachusetts and Alaska, which currently have about 80 dentists per 100,000 residents, in order to improve dental access in the state.
Read more: AL.com
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