A recent CDC National Health Interview Survey found that a third of adults ages 65 and older had dental insurance in 2017, and the percent covered decreased with an increase in age.
Older adults living below the FPL were less likely to have dental insurance and to have visited the dentist, and more likely to have an unmet need for dental care due to cost compared with older adults living 200% above the FPL. An unmet need for dental care was defined as having a dental related problem but not being able to address it because of cost.
This report provides evidence to support adding routine dental care to Medicare, as outlined in S.1423 Medicare and Medicaid Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2019. Medicare currently does not cover routine dental care.
You can find the link to the report here: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db337-h.pdf
