-
Stamford dentists need to lead the charge for a national health care system
In the world of dental care, things are changing at an exponential rate. Old axioms no longer apply, as the industry struggles to keep up with rising dental costs and rapid technological advancements. It seems like every day there is a new and exciting breakthrough in dental health, and dental professionals all over the country rejoice at these new developments. Many dental professionals work tirelessly to advance common dental knowledge, breaking down new technological doors in an attempt to give their patients the best dental care possible. While these dental advancements are indeed exciting, every news story that breaks with a new technological breakthrough in the dental field is met with everything from casual indifference to outright indifference from the general public. This is because people know that any new experimental dental treatments are going to be ridiculously expensive, and they know that their health insurance probably won’t cover it. This sad fact says a lot about the health care crisis, when those who need new treatment can’t afford it.
Stamford dentists are committed to righting in this wrong by providing local patients with the best care possible at reasonable prices. So while the dental community marvels at it’s own technological prowess and continued advancement, the general public cringes because they know that they’ll eventually have to pay for these modern wonders out of pocket. While no one is suggesting that the medical community stop reaches for new heights in their research, there are some valid questions being raised at how the poorest Americans will receive access to this care.
The United States is a first world nation, and yet a troubling percentage of the population can’t afford adequate health care. Some so-called third world nations have a much lower gross domestic product, yet they are able to provide free nationalized health to all their citizens. The United States needs to get it’s act together so to speak and provide free health, dental, and vision health care coverage for all it’s citizens. If the United States wants to continue to be a role model for the world, it has to treat its citizens like people and not statistics. Stamford dentists acknowledge that there has to be action on a local level. That’s why many Stamford dentists volunteer in their free at time at free health clinics, and often work long hours for no pay to try to help the poorest residents in the area to get access to some semblance of adequate dental care. However, this is only a temporary fix and can’t be expected to last forever. Action has to be taken a national level, not just by a group of well-intentioned Stamford dentists. Indeed, the dental health community needs to ban together to try and raise awareness of this growing national plight. Dental professionals across the nation, including Stamford dentists, need to talk with government officials at all levels to try and convey the necessity or preventive dental care, funded by the federal government. This is the only way to evoke some desperately needed change.
Summary: Stamford dentists, as well as the dental community at large, need to come together to address the growing health care crisis in this country.