One of the most overlooked items in healthcare is dental care. Many pundits discuss healthcare but fail to realize that dental care should also be included in discussions of healthcare. Out of pocket dental expenses constitute 27 percent of out of pocket healthcare costs. Many poor people cannot afford the exorbitant costs for fillings crowns, or implants and must suffer through eating in pain. Lack of dental care has been shown to lead to problems for children in education and a whole host of medical problems. I have not really thought about the lack of dental care until recently.
My wife recently had to get an implant put in which cost approximately 3500 dollars. Our dental insurance paid for hardly any of it and considered it cosmetic. I am working on finishing my PH.D and we cannot really afford this implant. My wife and I are in a position of choosing between fixing her teeth and paying my tuition. My student loans have run out so we are working right now to try to find a way to fund my tuition since we decided to pay for fixing her teeth. I really wished I would have worked on this problem sooner. This is another reason that poor people are being left behind and we must as progressives advocate more for better dental care.