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The essential health benefits include things like maternity care and hospitalizations. It includes pediatric services, including oral and vision care. The American Dental Association estimates that about 3 million children will gain dental benefits as a result of this provision.
Theres nothing, however, that would require coverage of such services for adults.
This is actually true of a lot of public insurance plans: Medicare barely covers much in the way of dental benefits (the AARP offers private, supplementary plans for such coverage). In Medicaid, 22 states either offer no dental coverage at all or only do so in emergency situations.
Dentists, meanwhile, havent exactly been gunning to be included in public-health systems. Staying outside of the insurance system means they can charge whatever prices they want, without a health plan pushing back. Organized dentistry flexed its muscles in 1965 to keep dentists out of the Medicare system, The Wall Street Journals Alica Mundy reported in a recent article on the dentist lobby.
This is a situation that troubles a lot of public-health advocates. About 33 million Americans live in areas where there arent enough dentists to meet oral health-care needs. Research has linked poor oral health to increased use of emergency services and higher risk for diabetes and heart and respiratory diseases.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/11/16/romneys-right-obamacare-does-not-include-dental-care/
So, yeah, thousands will still be lined up for vision and dental services...