The question of cost: reimbursement and remuneration

Dentists and the dental team have been encouraged to become an important part of the effort to curb tobacco use. Many health insurance policies, however, do not cover tobacco cessation programs, especially by dentists. The generosity of insurance for tobacco cessation has been found to influence the use of these programs. The dental profession can help by: 1) training more dental students, dental hygienists, and dental practitioners to provide tobacco cessation counseling; 2) increasing the number of practices routinely monitoring tobacco use and providing tobacco cessation programs; 3) increasing the utilization of the available procedure codes for tobacco cessation, whether it is a covered service or not; and 4) stimulating demand for more tobacco cessation coverage by employees.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. B. Giddon and L. A. Assael Should dentists become 'oral physicians'?: Yes, dentists should become 'oral physicians.' J Am Dent Assoc, April 1, 2004; 135(4): 438 - 449. [Full Text] [PDF]