A Q&A Spotlighting Senior Oral Health Care
As we wrap up Healthy Aging Month, Sarah Chavarria and I spoke about the the new and exciting endeavor the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation is taking on.
SARAH: Why is our Foundation putting senior oral health care at the forefront? And, why is this an issue that we should all be more aware of, and why is it a priority for the Foundation?
KENZIE: When we looked at what other organizations in the dental health space focused their attention on, what we found was there was a significant gap in education, resources, and access to oral health care for seniors. Our aging population, specifically those over 65, face unique oral health challenges that have significant overall health implications, but they’re oftentimes a vulnerable group that is overlooked.
The great news is that we are living longer, and so we want to make sure we are aging gracefully and maintaining a level of good health. It’s projected that by 2040 the senior population in the US will double to over 90 million — that’s 1 in every 5 Americans over 65!
We want to shed light on the fact that our oral health is directly linked to our overall health. Improving the oral health of seniors is a priority for the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation. Getting older should not mean that one has to live with oral health issues that can cause pain, embarrassment, or compound other health problems.
It is our mission to improve the quality of care and expand access to oral health in the communities of our most vulnerable seniors to ensure that everyone can age gracefully and with dignity.
SARAH: What are the challenges that seniors face with their oral health care, and how is that linked to their overall health?
KENZIE: I was surprised to find out that when we retire, dental coverage is limited in Medicare. That means many of those over 65 lose dental care altogether when they retire. In fact, around half of Americans 65 and older lack any source of dental insurance, and out-of-pocket dental costs can be pricey, which leads to the worst thing — skipping preventative checkups and cleanings.
I recently learned that nearly 70 percent of people over 65 suffer from some form of gum disease. This is a startling number as poor oral health and gum disease are closely linked to a wide variety of other health problems like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, glaucoma and even Alzheimer’s. It can compromise your immune system and therefore your ability to fight off infection — which has grown even more concerning as we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The numbers become even more alarming when we look at some of our underrepresented and disenfranchised groups. Research from the CDC shows that older Black and Mexican American adults have 2 to 3 times the rate of untreated cavities as older White adults. For older adults living in poverty in the US, 25 percent have lost all their natural teeth due to decay or gum disease.
Bottom line, taking care of our teeth and gums as we age is critical to maintaining good overall health.
SARAH: How is the Foundation approaching the oral health problem for aging adults, and what is being done to address this issue?
KENZIE: It takes a coalition of organizations to tackle big complex problems like improving oral health for seniors. That is why we are doing something different for our Foundation and creating a coalition of nonprofit partners to focus solely on how a community can improve senior oral health care.
By forming this coalition, we want to learn about the disparities and challenges our underserved seniors face and better understand how we can make a lasting difference with the aging population in the US. We want to develop a scalable program that will address the heightened need for senior oral health care education and resources. The aim of the program is to reduce barriers, addresses challenges, increase access to oral health for low-income seniors and minority groups, and deliver long lasting systematic change.
Ultimately, this will help us gather deeper learnings to better understand the needs of our seniors and allow us to transform access to quality oral health care in communities and, most importantly, advance equity for our most vulnerable populations.
SARAH: It’s clear that you are extremely passionate about the work you do at Delta Dental. What do you enjoy the most about leading the Foundation?
KENZIE: When I joined Delta Dental almost three years ago, I was impressed that leadership had already made the commitment to significantly fund the Foundation. Moreover, the Foundation had built a strong base of incredible nonprofits across our enterprise states. However, these sprinklings of love were not enough to make lasting systematic change.
My passion is deeply rooted in building scalable philanthropic programs and driving systemic change. I saw this as an opportunity for us to take a deeper dive into one cause — a defined area of focus — where we could really move the needle and evaluate and understand the long-term outcomes so that we can make a lasting impact. I believe anything that is truly important will be difficult and take time. And I look forward to working with my team and our community partners to build the change we want to see and address this issue by bringing greater awareness to the needs and concerns of our aging population.
Let’s start a conversation about senior oral health care and build the change we want to see.
