Oral Health

Oral health is key to overall health and well-being, and the use of dental services helps prevent and treat dental disease and improves oral health. The prevalence of unmet oral health needs is higher among people with low incomes, including those with Medicaid. This issue brief describes Medicaid dental coverage, examines the use of dental services for children and adults in Medicaid, and discusses current challenges and policy changes that impact access to oral health care for Medicaid enrollees.

Adult dental care can lead to high out of pocket costs for consumers, especially for those with private insurance coverage. This post analyzes a proposed provision in the HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2025, and possible implications for consumers who have Marketplace coverage.

This brief describes current law related to coverage and payment for dental services under Medicare and the rationale for changes to current policy, explains changes to dental payment and coverage included in the 2023 and 2024 final rules, and discusses the impact on Medicare and beneficiaries. These rules modestly expand the types of dental services that are covered under Medicare, but do not represent a broad expansion of Medicare coverage of dental services and will not substantially increase Medicare spending or covered dental services for a large number of Medicare beneficiaries.