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    • Long waits, inconveniences, health problems
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    Long waits, inconveniences, health problems

    Harry Posted on

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    • Nearly half of New York’s 62 counties struggle with complete or partial shortages of dental care.
    • Rural communities have an average of four dentists per 10,000 people, while metropolitan areas have nine dentists per 10,000 people.
    • Growing dental care deserts, gaps in dental insurance, contribute to millions of Americans suffering from minor oral infections that fester and turn into life-threatening ordeals.

    Alexis Thrash spent months desperately calling dentists in upstate New York to book a visit; When something hot or cold touched his chin, a searing pain ripped through his body.

    But every phone call went off the rails when she asked dentist offices the same two questions: Are you on Medicaid? Do you accept new patients?

    He quickly learned the stark choice facing thousands of New Yorkers in dental care deserts: Either live with excruciating pain for months — or years — while waiting for a dentist exam, or have your offending tooth — or teeth — removed in an emergency. dental clinic.

    A mother from NY, Greece, could not afford dental care.

    “Those are pretty terrible options when you’re talking about something this important,” Thrash recently recalled. “So I left my rotten teeth in my mouth until I went to the dentist.”

    In other words, Thrash, a 27-year-old from Greece near Rochester, waited and suffered because he couldn’t pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for dental care — while increasing his risk of other serious health complications linked to mouth infections.

    Thrash eventually waited 18 months for a dentist visit, which she secured through the Eastman Oral Health Institute’s program for pregnant women. Since then, he has had 10 dental treatments that fill gaps and fix broken or exposed wisdom teeth. She gave birth to twin boys in September.

    New York’s dental crisis

    Thousands of patients like Thrash have been languishing on a growing waiting list for months. Eastman Institute of Oral Health In Rochester, it highlights New York’s broken dental care system.

    Director of the institute’s care network and school, Dr. Eli Eliav could barely walk through the overcrowded waiting areas of his dentist office one morning early this fall. And at the time, there were about 30,000 more patients on the waiting list seeking dental care statewide.

    “Parents are calling crying and asking for help,” Eliav said, referring to children on the waiting list.

    National: A dozen rotten teeth; ‘stabbing’ pain: Stories from America’s dental crisis.

    The dental institute, part of UR Medicine, receives patients from dozens of counties across the state due to increasing dental care deserts and Gaps in dental insuranceThis contributes to the millions of Americans who suffer from minor mouth infections that fester and turn into life-threatening ordeals.

    According to the Rural Health Information Center, nearly half of New York’s 62 counties are struggling with a complete or partial dental care shortage; Rural communities have an average of four dentists per 10,000 people, while metropolitan areas have nine dentists per 10,000 people.

    “We feel really helpless,” Eliav said. “We don’t know how to help all patients.”

    New York’s growing dental care waiting lists

    In many ways, the risks become clearer when viewed through the lens of the Eastman institute’s waitlist statistics obtained by the USA TODAY Network. These include:

    • Last month, nearly 19,000 adults from 56 counties were on waiting lists for dental care.
    • More than 10,100 children from 40 counties were waiting for care, while approximately 840 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities requiring special care were also on the waiting list.
    • New Yorkers wait anywhere from a year to 18 months for routine dental exams through the institute, one of the few networks that takes dental patients covered by Medicaid. Wait times for advanced dental care requiring anesthesia through the institute can be even longer.

    What is New York doing about the dental crisis?

    Schools: Tarrytown schools partner with Open Door Family Medical Centers to offer free dental care

    State lawmakers this year introduced legislation aimed at increasing the number of dentists and removing barriers to dental care. The bills included forgiving dental school loans for dentists practicing in underserved areas, increasing insurance transparency and expanding services performed by hygienists.

    But it stalled the legislation, as did lawmakers’ efforts to increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate for dental care. Other flaws in the healthcare systemThat includes approving billions of dollars to support hospitals and nursing homes.

    Now, dental care advocacy groups are expected to renew their lobbying efforts next year, aimed in part at highlighting the fact that Medicaid rates for dental care have been stagnant since 2012. In contrast, Medicaid financing of health care has increased many times over this period.

    “Dentistry is not at the top of the food chain, and we need to work on that,” Eliav said, noting that today, Medicaid funding remains about $50 below the cost of providing dental care.

    Nearly one-third of dentists in New York serve Medicaid patients, and millions of poor and low-income New Yorkers struggle to find dental care. Health Workforce Center study found.

    At the same time, millions of older New Yorkers have poor access to dental care, in part because of their lack of Medicare dental benefits. And more than half of adults nationwide you don’t have consistent access to dental care.

    No one wants to add dental insurance to Medicare. From where?

    But efforts to add dental coverage to Medicare and address other barriers to dental care have not gained much traction. political leaders across the countryThe debate focused on other health issues, such as abortion and hospice failures.

    Ongoing efforts to fill gaps in New York’s dental care system have provided little relief for many patients. While the Eastman Institute and some other networks used urgent dental clinics to prevent emergency room visits for dental crises, many patients required anesthesia that was not available at dental urgent cares.

    Referring to dental system failures that affect so many people, Eliav said: “It’s time for us to get to a position where we actually have to do something.”

    — USA TODAY’s Ken Alltucker contributed reporting

    — David Robinson is a senior health reporter on the USA TODAY Network’s New York State Team. reach out to him [email protected].

    Harry
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