Hot Take: The Cost to Employers of Poor Oral Health

Tune in to hear guest, Dr. Judy Haber, Executive Director of the Oral Health Nursing Education and Practice (OHNEP) program, give a hot take on the critical, yet often overlooked, connection between oral health and overall well-being. She dives into how simple changes like integrating dental care into workplace benefit plans, can help employers reduce costs, boost productivity, and improve employee quality of life.

This hot take is a compelling call to action for employers who want to foster a healthier, more efficient workplace. Don't miss out on these invaluable insights that could transform your approach to employee health benefits.

Thanks for tuning in. Subscribe today to receive alerts of new weekly episodes and follow @GoMoHealth on social for the latest in healthcare engagement.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
There are times in the world and life when a
discovery changes how we dothings.
Hi everyone, I'm ShelleySchoenfeld.
Join me on this journey ofdiscovery as we unfold a
whole-person health deliveryscience for people in need.
Welcome to Human ResilienceChanging the Way Healthcare is
Delivered.
In this episode, we'll hearfrom Judy Haber, who's the

(00:21):
Executive Director of the OralHealth Nursing Education and
Practice, otherwise known asONEP.
Judy will share insights intooral health's connection to
overall well-being and how oralhealth financially impacts
organizations' bottom lines.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Hello, I am Dr Judy Haber, Professor Emerita at NYU
Rory Myers College of Nursingand Executive Director ofa
National Nursing Oral HealthInitiative, the Oral Health
Nursing Education and PracticeProgram known as ONEP.
Onep understands that there isa strong link between oral

(01:00):
health and overall health.
Both are vital components ofwell-being, self-esteem and
productivity.
Think about promoting theimportance of oral health to
employees and customers.
There are so many benefits topromoting the value of including
oral health when employeesthink about what it means to be

(01:25):
healthy.
All employed persons shouldhave access to quality oral
health care across the lifespan.
That is a core value, and itshould be a core value of
employers and benefit designprograms.
Think, too, about how wellpositioned employers and

(01:46):
organizational leaders, like HRteams, are to raise awareness
and promote oral health amongtheir employees.
Among the benefits of promotinga culture that supports the
importance of oral health careto employees are the following
First, there is a reduced costto both employers and employees.

(02:11):
Over $45 billion is lostannually in productivity in the
US due to untreated oral disease.
Promoting oral health in theworkplace can work towards
minimizing the need to take timeoff from work for dental
procedures and emergencies, aswell as reduce avoidable claims

(02:37):
such as emergency room visitsfor dental issues, which can be
very expensive expenditures.
Benefit optimization occurswhen employers offer dental
benefits.
They should also ensure thatemployees are aware of how to

(02:59):
use those benefits and what theyconsist of.
Now employers, it's veryhelpful if they understand the
impact of dental coverage on theoverall medical costs and
insurance plans medicalinsurance plans that they offer
to their employees.

(03:20):
The health insurance industryis beginning to look at ways to
improve overall health healthcare effectiveness.
Overall health healthcareeffectiveness Medical insurers
use dental claims analyses tounderstand the impact of oral
health care services on medicalconditions, particularly believe

(03:43):
it or not birth outcomes andchronic conditions like diabetes
and cardiovascular disease.
Research findings show thatdental care can reduce overall
health care costs as measured bysavings on the use of health
care resources, for instance,the number of hospitalizations,

(04:07):
the amount of ER use andoutcomes related to the
effective management of chronicconditions.
That decreases risk andcomplications from those
conditions.
Just as one example, the use ofthe ER to manage or treat

(04:28):
dental problems rose from 1.1million visits in 2000 to 2.2
million in 2014.
It's now 10 years later, so youcan imagine how high the number
of visits to ERs for dentalproblems is in 2024.

(04:49):
The majority of people who usethe emergency room for dental
problems have toothaches, pain,abscesses, infections.
They have issues that occuroutside of dental office hours,
which frequently are not in theevening or on weekends, or they

(05:10):
don't have dental insurance anddon't have a dental home.
Cost is the number one reasonpeople do not visit the dentist.
The diversion of ER visits to adental office could save up to
$1.7 billion annually, that is,each year.

(05:32):
So employers who offer dentalinsurance would be contributing
to those savings, which shouldincentivize employer insurance
benefit design that supports thevalue of health insurance
benefit plans that featureintegrated dental and medical

(05:58):
services.
The benefits of proactive oralcare include risk reduction.
Dental care such as fluoridetreatments, dental sealants and
regular cleanings is generallyless expensive than treating

(06:18):
advanced dental problems anddisease.
Encouraging these preventivemeasures through workplace
public health initiatives andinsurance coverage can lead to
long-term cost savings.
Poor oral hygiene practicesassociated with poor oral health

(06:38):
are also associated withdecreased self-esteem and
self-confidence and have beenshown to limit the ability to
secure employments.
In fact, it is suggested thatthe appearance of the mouth and
teeth influence hiring practicesand earnings and job-seeking

(07:01):
empowerment.
So what is the takeaway?
The takeaway is an employercall to action to influence the
oral health of your employeesand impact your bottom line by
offering an oral health dentalbenefit as an integral component

(07:23):
of your employee health benefitplan design.
You'll be happy you did it andhave no regrets.