The Michigan Department of Community Health announced on Monday a new oral health action plan that officials hope will improve dental health in Michigan.
The plan has several points, but mainly focuses on improving oral health care and making it more available to Michigan residents, said T.J. Bucholz, spokesman for the department of health.
"It provides the state with a blueprint to follow for improving oral health," Bucholz said.
The main parts of the program are prevention, education and awareness, said Tom Kochheiser, spokesman for the Michigan Dental Association. The plan aims to make the public understand that there is a connection between a oral health care and overall health, he said.
"If you want a healthy body, you have to start with a healthy mouth," Kochheiser said.
The connection between oral health and overall health is important because a dentist can often be the first person to see symptoms of some diseases that affect other parts of the body, such as oral cancers and diabetes, Kochheiser said.
Poor oral health has also been shown to contribute to other things, such as premature births, babies with low birth weight and heart disease, said Rebecca Cienki, policy and planning director of the Michigan Primary Care Association.
She added that having poor dental health can also make it hard for a person to find a job.
"It's hard to employ someone without teeth," Cienki said.
Because it can be tempting for college students to forget about their oral health and not visit a dentist regularly when they are away from home, Kochheiser emphasized the importance of students keeping up with regular visits to a dentist.
Olin Health Center has two dentists that work part-time along with a few dental hygienists, Olin spokeswoman Kathi Braunlich said.
The dental professionals are available to do routine cleaning, x-rays, fillings and small emergencies, such as a sore tooth. If an oral surgeon is needed, students can be referred to outside practices, she said.
Dental visits are not included in students' three free medical visits to Olin, but prices are similar to what they would be visiting any dentist in the community, Braunlich said.
Braunlich recommends making appointments for routine cleaning about one month in advance.
"You get the biggest choice of appointments when you call early," she said.
Another part of the plan is looking at different ways to fund access to dental care for more Michigan residents, Kochheiser said.
This includes reinstating the Medicaid dental health benefit, he said.
The benefit was cut out of the state budget two years ago, but will be brought back on Oct. 1, after Gov. Jennifer Granholm signs the budget, Kochheiser said.
But reinstating the Medicaid dental health benefit will not help all Michigan residents, Bucholz said. There are 1.4 million people that have Medicaid insurance, but 10 million people in the state, so there is a wide number of people that are not included in that program, he said.
Part of the plan will be making sure those people, especially those in underprivileged communities, have oral health benefits, Bucholz said.
