Critical dental care for low-income adults gets second chance before Maine legislature

Health care advocacy groups and working-class Mainers of all ages testified before the state legislature’s Health and Human Services committee on Monday about the real-life impacts of not having affordable dental coverage.

“All my life people have always said that I have a beautiful smile,” said Cheyenna Baldwin, a mother living in Auburn, who is currently living with broken and missing teeth. Baldwin was testifying on behalf of a LD 1955, a bill that would allow her to receive dental insurance through MaineCare. “When I started to smile less, and hide my smile, people would ask, ‘Why?’ which is hard and embarrassing to explain.”

Unable to afford dental insurance, and diagnosed with a kidney disease that impacts her oral health, Baldwin’s once “beautiful smile” has deteriorated. Multiple mouth infections have gradually left her teeth weak, and she worries that these infections will impact more than just her smile.

“Having better access to dental insurance will not only help me fix the very few teeth that I have, but it will also help with my other medical problems,” she said. “I will be able to build my self-esteem and self-worth back up. I’ll also be able to do more good things in my life.”

LD 1955 is the second attempt to secure dental coverage for low-income adults after a similar bill, LD 1453, passed both the state House and Senate with bipartisan support last year. That bill was not signed by Governor Janet Mills and did not get funded. The legislation would have MaineCare, Maine’s Medicaid program, provide comprehensive dental coverage to low-income adults.

“When we talk about having a fractured and broken health care system,” said bill sponsor Rep. Drew Gattine (D-Westbrook), “I can’t think of a better example than the way we provide dental care.”

Linda Monroe, a senior living in Blue Hill, discussed the prohibitive costs seniors face when trying to maintain their oral health.

“Dental procedures require large payments upon leaving the office. Many of us Maine seniors reach for a credit card and pay those bills over years,” said Monroe. “It’s something most House Representatives and Senators don’t have to consider in their private lives, nor do others employed or retired with ‘good benefits.’ But dentistry for all seniors is a need too often that goes neglected, and cost is the one reason. Seniors of modest means ought to have some dental options not currently available.”

Jeff Walawender, a full-time dentist at one of Maine’s Community Dental offices, spoke to a troubling trend of people being more likely to bring their children in for regular check-ups if they, as adults, can also afford to get check-ups.

“As a frontline dentist, I have seen that patients with a good dental benefit are far more likely to visit the dentist and utilize preventive services as a family,” he said.

According to research by the American Dental Association, 45 percent of low-income Mainers say they avoid smiling because of the state of their teeth and mouth, and one in three say the appearance of their mouth and teeth affects their ability to get a job. A 2010 report from the Muskie School for Public Service found that the top reason for an emergency department visit among both MaineCare and uninsured young adults aged 15 through 44 was dental disease.

Photo: Rep. Gattine testifying before the committee on Monday. | Maine Equal Justice