As dentists' fees rise faster than inflation, more people leave cavities untreated

For many Americans, perhaps the only thing more dreaded than a trip to the dentist is getting the bill afterward. The costs of dentists' fees have risen faster than inflation in recent years, and more than 100 million Americans remain without dental insurance, reports The New York Times. Add those two factors to a lack of dentists in many rural areas, and it's not hard to see why the number of Americans with untreated cavities is on the rise after decades of progress in dental health. (Times charts)

Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that in 2003 and 2004, 27 percent of children and 29 percent of adults did not receive treatment for their cavities, the highest such figures since the late 1980s, writes Alex Berenson. The average American spends $600 annually on dental care, of which about half is covered by insurance. That's not the case for poor families whose Medicaid coverage is not accepted by most dentists. In most places, Medicaid won't cover basic care, and dentists prefer the steady income of patients that pay cash or have private insurance.

“Most dentists consider themselves to be in the business of dentistry rather than the practice of dentistry,” said Dr. David A. Nash, a professor of pediatric dentistry at the University of Kentucky. “I’m a cynic about my profession, but the data are there. It’s embarrassing.”

To combat a growing shortage of dentists, especially in rural America, many want dental hygienists and dental therapists to be allowed to provide basic care such as drilling and filling cavities. State dental boards and the American Dental Association have lobbied against such plans and won. Dental therapists are technicians without the general medical training of dentists, and they practice in more than 5o nations, including parts of Western Europe.