Kansans Need Denture Coverage

The 2022 Kansas Legislature appropriated $3.5 million to extend KanCare dental benefits to adults. This marked a huge step forward in ensuring adults enrolled in KanCare have access to the basic dental care they need.

Missing teeth leads to difficulty in eating and digesting food which can lead to nutritional deficiencies. Studies have shown people with missing teeth are more likely to experience health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, and diabetes. Dentures and partials are one of the best ways for people who have lost some or all of their teeth to eat healthy foods and enhance their overall health. But dentures and partials are not included in KanCare coverage.

It is time to ensure all people who are enrolled in KanCare have access to dentures or partials.

Why are dentures important?
When people are missing all their teeth they are at greater risk for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease
Without the support of natural teeth or dentures, the muscles in the face can sag and make it harder to eat and speak.
Using dentures or partials ensure people who are missing teeth are able to eat a healthy diet, including fresh fruits and vegetables.
Dentures restore people’s smile, and with it their confidence and ability to get and keep a job.

Who would be affected if Medicaid included denture coverage in Kansas?
Older adults, people with disabilities, and people with lower income are more likely to be missing teeth or have no teeth left.             
  - Nationally, 2% of working age adults have no teeth.
  - In Kansas, 13% of older adults have no teeth.
38% of the Kansas Medicaid population are adults over the age of 21.

Do other states include denture coverage in Medicaid?  
Nineteen states include denture coverage in Medicaid, including our neighbors in Nebraska, Iowa, and Colorado.

How often should dentures be replaced?
The American College of Prosthodontists is the professional organization for dentists who specialize in dentures. They share this position statement on the frequency of replacing dentures. It includes important information about how the mouth changes over time which means dentures must be replaced at least every five years, but more often if problems arise.

Read more in this Medicaid Denture Coverage in Kansas overview and in these Talking Points.