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December 2, 2009 | dentalproductsreport.com Having insurance leads to healthier lifestyles A study by the National Association of Dental Plans shows correlations between having dental insurance and healthy lifestyles.  Studies show that people with dental benefits are more likely to view healthy eating and living a healthy lifestyle as important. Photo: Angello Cavalli/Getty Images The impact of oral health on overall health is well documented, but what about the impact of dental insurance? Could simply having dental coverage lead people to make better choices regarding their overall health? A study by the National Association of Dental Plans appears to show just that. “The Haves and The Have-Nots: Consumers With and Without Dental Benefits” examines the differences between people with and without dental benefits when it comes to overall health, dental health, attitudes about health and related lifestyle choices. “It all fits together in a nice little circle,” said NADP Executive Director Evelyn Ireland, explaining that while the study shows a clear connection, it does not offer any conclusions as to whether dental benefits spur healthy attitudes and improved health, or if people with healthy lifestyles are simply more likely to seek out coverage. Study findings While just more than half of Americans have dental benefits, that still leaves more than 143 million people without coverage, and if the results of the NADP study are any indication, those people are likely to be less healthy than the insured population. People without dental benefits are 67% more likely to have heart disease, 50% more likely to have osteoporosis and 29% more likely to have diabetes. Meanwhile, people with benefits are more likely to find importance in eating a low-fat diet, exercising at least 30 minutes a day, getting an annual physical, brushing their teeth twice a day and visiting the dentist at least twice a year. While 49% of people with dental benefits report never smoking cigarettes, the number drops to 42% for the population without coverage. Benefit impacts Not surprisingly, people with insurance said they visit the dentist far more frequently than those without dental benefits. People without benefits were almost twice as likely to report not seeing a dentist in the last 12 months, and 51% of that population reported taking their children to the dentist once a year or less. Conversely, 69% of the insured population report taking their children to the dentist more than once a year. Those trends lead to a sharp difference in the types of dental care received by people with and without dental insurance. The population with insurance was more likely to save natural dentition through restorative treatments such as fillings, crowns and root canals. Meanwhile, people lacking benefits had a higher rate of extractions and twice the rate of dentures. Other factors at play The study’s findings certainly indicate the correlation between having dental benefits and leading a healthy lifestyle, but those results might actually be the byproduct of other relevant statistics revealed by the study. It seems there are strong correlations between employment, income and education, and whether or not a person has dental benefits. While almost three-quarters of the population with dental benefits is employed in a full- or part-time position, just 52% of those without insurance are similarly employed. When it comes to education, the more a person has, the more likely he or she is to have dental benefits. A similar trend plays out in terms of income, with people in higher income brackets more likely to be insured than those earning less. “Cost isn’t as much a barrier to care when you have coverage as it is when you don’t have coverage,” Ireland said. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s health or dental, (people without insurance) are not going to the doctor unless they’re in a life threatening situation. They are less likely to get prevention which leads to further problems.” These statistics line up with a wide range of published studies showing a link between higher socio-economic status and better overall health and lifestyle choices. People with more education, better jobs and higher salaries tend to be healthier. They also are more likely to have health and dental benefits. The key link could be that better educated people tend to be better educated about caring for their health, or it could be that people with more money are better equipped to make healthy choices. It could even be the simple fact that people with insurance make use of their benefits and are thus in better health. Whatever the exact correlation, it is clear that the population with dental benefits does a better job of caring for its health. Therefore it likely follows that providing more people with access to dental care can improve the population’s oral health. That of course will lead to improved overall health. Uses for the data That is exactly how the insurance industry is viewing these findings, Ireland said. NADP conducted the survey as an effort to create a “psychographic” profile of the market in order to, “target consumers that don’t have dental benefits and those that are more likely to purchase.” According to Ireland the data is being put to use by a number of dental insurance providers to help them find people without insurance who are most likely to obtain coverage and use the benefits. She said finding new customers for dental insurance could have an impact on the overall health of the American population. “It’s to help guide outreach to those that don’t have dental benefits, to expand dental benefits which in turn expands the access to care because we know that people with dental benefits are two-and-a-half times more likely to go to the dentist,” she said. Noah Levine is a senior editor for DPR. Contact him at nlevine@advanstar.com.
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