Caring for older Americans’ teeth and gums is essential, but Medicare generally doesn’t cover that cost

Taking good care of your teeth and gums is essential at any age. Adobe Stock Photo by Frank Scannapieco, University at Buffalo and Ira Lamster, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York) C. Everett Koop, the avuncular doctor with a fluffy white beard who served as the U.S. surgeon general during the Reagan administration, was famous for his work as an innovative pediatric surgeon and the attention he paid to the HIV-AIDS crisis. As dentistry scholars, we believe Koop also deserves credit for something else. To help make the medical profession pay more attention to the importance of healthy teeth and gums, he’d often say: “You are not healthy without good oral health.” Yet, more than three decades after Koop’s surgeon general stint ended in 1989, millions of Americans don’t get even the most basic dental services, such as checkups, tooth cleanings and fillings. Americans who rely on the traditional Medicare program for their health insurance get no help from that program with paying their dental bills aside from some narrow exceptions. This group includes some 24 million people over 65 – about half of all the people who rely on Medicare for their health insurance. Surgeon General...