HealthPartners Introduces Expanded Dental Benefits For Diabetes, Maternity Care
BLOOMINGTON, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HealthPartners today announced new dental benefits for pregnant women and people with diabetes. The new benefits provide 100 percent coverage for extra dental exams and cleanings and preventive periodontal services with no deductibles, coinsurance or annual maximums. The new benefits are designed to improve oral health which research shows can help prevent medical complications among pregnant women and people with diabetes.
Link between oral, overall health
"There is growing evidence that poor oral health has an impact on overall health," said David Gesko, DDS dental director of HealthPartners Dental Group. Gesko said recent studies suggest that preventive dental care can reduce preterm births for pregnant women with serious periodontal disease and that more frequent teeth cleanings to prevent or minimize gum disease is associated with an increase in healthy full-term babies.
Likewise, Gesko notes that patients with diabetes who have their teeth professionally cleaned are better able to control blood glucose levels, which helps prevent complications including blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, nervous system disorders and amputations.
"These are the latest benefits aimed at patients with specific oral health needs," said Forrest Flint, vice president of HealthPartners Dental Group. In June HealthPartners introduced Little Partners which provides 100 percent coverage for children 12 and younger. HealthPartners also expanded coverage for dental implants to include both surgery and artificial tooth replacements.
In addition to these latest innovations, HealthPartners was the first in the nation to introduce dental sealants in the late 1970s, the first to offer tiered networks that rank dentists by cost and quality and the first to use risk assessments that help provide personalize care.
About HealthPartners
Founded in 1957, the HealthPartners (www.healthpartners.com) family of healthcare companies serve more than one million medical and dental health plan members nationwide. For the third year in a row, HealthPartners is rated one of the best commercial health plans in the nation by U.S. News & World Report/ NCQA's "America's Best Health Plans 2007" and is ranked "Highest in Member Satisfaction among Commercial Health Plans in the Minnesota-Wisconsin Region" by J.D. Power and Associates
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