Approximately 130 million Americans don't have any dental insurance, according to a recent report from the U.S. Senate.
Private health insurance plans usually don't provide dental benefits, according to the report. Plans that do include dental benefits tend to be very expensive, as they require a high level of cost-sharing. Traditional Medicare does not include dental benefits.
About 25 percent of Americans 65 and older have lost all of their teeth and 42 of Americans have no dental coverage at all, according to the report. The maximum payouts for dental insurance are usually about $1,000 to $2,000 a year, according to SmartMoney. So for procedures such as root canals, individuals will have to pay a considerable amount of their own money.
Less than 3 percent of people with dental coverage met or surpassed their cap in 2009, according to the most recent survey by the National Association of Dental Providers.
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