A3. The best way to improve oral health among Latinos (and others) is to make dental care part of regular health insurance. Here's what Marko Vujicic of the ADA has said: #SaludTues

"First, we need to revisit the separation of mouth and body in federal and state health care policy. Given the significant impact of oral health on the body as a whole, and vice versa, the current official views make no sense." #SaludTues

"Second, it's time for dental "insurance" to be restructured so it actually pays for oral health - that was made clear when our survey found cost was a major reason for foregoing needed dental care even among those with insurance." #SaludTues

"Stand-alone dental insurance really should be called a benefit, not insurance. Most insurance is meant to shield the beneficiary from catastrophic costs. But dental insurance is exactly the opposite: it shields the insurer, not the patient, from catastrophic costs. #SaludTues

"In my view, this model is outdated and quite Byzantine." #SaludTues