Oral Health Access Among Older Californians
39% of older adults have no dental insurance, as opposed to 21% of working-age adults. 36% of older adults have private dental insurance, compared with 53% of working-age adults.
Among the lowest-income adults, 64% had public dental insurance through Medi-Cal, 16% had private insurance and 20% had no insurance at all.
59% of older adults with Medi-Cal saw a dentist within the last year; compared with 74% of uninsured older adults; and 86% of those with private insurance.
49% of older adults with Medi-Cal saw a dentist for a specific problem within the last year, compared to 35% of uninsured older adults; and 29% of older adults with private insurance.
Note: those with incomes at or below 138% of the federal poverty level were considered to be in the lowest-income category, while higher-income residents had incomes at or above 250% of the FPL.
