Medicare dental subsidies threatened; teledentistry project takes off

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

The debate over healthcare reform in the U.S. continued hot and heavy last week, focused on hundreds of proposed amendments to the House and Senate bills. The ADA chimed in on seven of the 564 amendments under consideration by the Senate Finance Committee, while the Children's Dental Health Project hailed an amendment to the House bill as "a major victory for oral health care."

Among the amendments is one that has a number of dentists up in arms: making dentistry part of Medicare. Truth is, Medicare Advantage already pays for some dental benefits. But another provision in the Senate bill would reduce subsidies that encourage insurance companies to provide this coverage. Read more.

In other news, a multimillion-dollar pilot project launched in California this week is taking a modern approach to an old problem: putting telehealth technologies in the hands of dental hygienists and assistants working with underserved populations in communities across the state.

In clinical news, cancer rates among U.S. Hispanics vary according to their families' country of origin, pointing to the need for increased education to prevent a potential spike in the incidence of cancer, including oral cancer.

And at the recent California Dental Association fall session, Dr. Marshall Wade shared his expertise regarding the relationship between oral bisphosphonates and osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), and what dentists need to know when treating patients at risk for ONJ. Read more.