Dental Benefit Expansion Predicted to Elevate Oral Health Care Demand

Once dental practices begin reopening for more than emergency care, increasing numbers of oral health professionals—particularly dental hygienists—may begin to see an uptick in patients who have rarely, if ever, received professional dental services. This is reportedly due to an expansion of Medicaid-covered services in many states during 2019. Especially impacted by the new benefits are prospective patients with limited incomes and those who live in underserved areas of the country.¹

TIME TO PREPARE

The number of new patients likely to land in dental chairs in the near future will surely provide dental hygienists plenty of patient education opportunities. In fact, for some patients, it may the first time anyone has offered oral hygiene instruction. Now is the time to brush up on some of the latest innovations that can help you help your patients. 

TOOTHBRUSHES

Typically, patients are told to brush their teeth for 2 minutes twice per day, though many don’t. On top of this, it’s not uncommon for brushers to miss spots. To solve this problem, some manufacturers are coming up with ways to increase brushing efficiency and make it less of a chore.

Power toothbrushes offer rotation, oscillation, and sonic vibration, which may support thorough cleaning. Toothbrushes geared toward kids feature songs, interactivity, and favorite cartoon characters to help gain kids’ cooperation in brushing the prescribed amount of time. Manual brushes may feature special features, such as dome-shaped bristles and handles that encourage holding of the brush at a 45° angle, to increase brushing effectiveness.

INTERDENTAL CARE

Regardless of the brush used, accessing interdental surfaces can be a challenge. Dental floss remains a tried and true standard. Interdental brushes can helpful for use between teeth and along the gumline into the sulcus. Some even feature antibacterial bristles.

In the long run, though such aids may not be entirely successful at removing every speck of plaque, at least one study found them to be beneficial at reducing gingivitis. Overall, evidence shows that the use of interdental aids in addition to brushing is better than brushing alone.²

References

1. Koppelman J. 2019 legislative wins set stage for access to oral health care: trends to watch in 2020. Available at: Click here.
2. Worthington HV, MacDonald L, Poklepovic Pericic T, et al. Home use of devices for cleaning between the teeth (in addition to toothbrushing) to prevent and control gum diseases and tooth decay. Available at: Click here.