Minnesota falling short of required dental care standards

The Pew report, which was released on Tuesday, has revealed that a number of states are falling short of acceptable standards of dental care.

Among those states was Minnesota, which was accused of providing substandard care. The report was centred on eight benchmarks, which included access to fluoridated water, reduced cost care and Medicare provision and educational and preventive measures in schools and communities.

According to the report, residents in Minnesota did not have an acceptable level of access to affordable care and were not receiving the preventive care they should be. Children in the area were particularly affected by the lack of access to reduced rate dental care, as parents struggled to juggle household costs in the light of the recession; unfortunately, research has shown that dental care is one of the first things to be sacrificed when there is no money left in the pot.

Dentists in the state admitted that they were under increasing financial pressure and were consequently increasing the amount of private work they did and decreasing their Medicare work; they insisted they were not being given enough money to continue providing Medicare treatments and therefore had no choice but to cut the number of Medicare patients they cared for.

In light of the findings revealed in the report, recommendations have been made to improve dental healthcare in the region; these include sealant programmes for young people, educational initiatives, increased access to Medicare treatment and improved access to fluoridated water. The combination of all these factors will make a considerable difference to oral health in the area in years to come. Targeting children and young people will make a difference in the future, as good habits will be passed on to future generations and measures will be up and running to cater for residents in the future.

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