For veterans and active duty personnel of the US Armed Forces and their families
By Dr F Braich DDS PhD
Access to medical care is the most important issue today in our country. A substantial part of medical care is the dental coverage benefit.
With regard to our military, their families and in particular the veterans, a comprehensive dental care solution will represent for our President Donald Trump a significant achievement in supporting our military. Cost-wise the coverage is but a very small portion of the general costs for medical coverage.
The cost / benefit ratio in this particular instance is shifted completely to the benefit side. The costs would be minimal to compare with the perceived benefit and the real positive effects health-wise on the beneficiary.
It is the undoubted opinion of all medical research on national and international levels that the oral health and in particular the gum disease are affecting the general health of the population to an enormous degree.
The chronic gum disease affects the adult population up to a 98%.
Recently teenagers have been diagnosed with such oral disease that is progressively increasing in intensity.
Dental coverage for military and their families would lead to an enormous general healthcare improvement in a relatively short period of time. As medical studies show, a reversal of many forms of chronic, degenerative disease has been observed within months from the start of active gum therapy.
The chronic, degenerative disease, CDD, directly related to the existence of periodontitis (gum disease) are as follows: diabetes (any stage), arteriosclerosis, lupus, MS, other immunological diseases, Alzheimer’s, dementia, stroke, respiratory infection, pregnancy complications, arthritis, osteopenia, oral head and neck cancer, kidney disease, pancreatitis, heart attacks and many other forms of disease related to the modern lifestyle.
Improving the oral health and combating/eliminating the gum disease will benefit in an unimaginable way the immune system of the patients with general health consequences.
Associating all these factors and scientific recognized facts, it is therefore of eminent importance to conclude that a relatively small cost budget-wise will offer to the participants an enormous benefit not only to their oral health but to their general health all around with considerable reduction in medical costs in different directions.
The armed forces represent but a very small percentage of the general population at large. Such a benefit if introduced will potentially demonstrate on a smaller scale the positive impact of the dental insurance for everyone. Improving the military health of our armed forces is an integral part of increasing the combat readiness as the President is definitely promoting.
In regard to Veterans in particular and their advanced age and higher degree of CDD, this benefit will be of substantial importance for the President achieving his goals for increased care for our Veterans.
In other words, and simplified to the extreme, we can conclude that a relatively small budget allocated to a small population group can achieve when properly applied a maximum impact on general health and secure in a short time considerable savings in healthcare.
In conclusion, I would recommend that a task force should be created to design a program, to examine the feasibility of financing such a program, and to create a pilot program in this matter. The results of the investigation of such a task force could then be presented for the consideration and decision of our President.
Based on my over 40 years’ experience in dental/medical field and decades of working with every kind of insurance configuration out there, I would like to offer my support and service in creating such a study group/task force and I am ready to initiate the pilot program immediately into our dental office, just minutes away from the Palm Beach VA hospital. Such programs can save many lives and substantially reduce our national health deficit when implemented efficiently through private and government cooperation.
Dr Florian Braich DDS PhD
9123 N Military Trail, Suite 200
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Phone: 561.627.2399
Email: drfbraich@gmail.com
March 5, 2019