News You Can Use: As costs increase, dental utilization decreases

Here's more evidence that cost-cutting can lead to scrimping on important health care services. EBA reports that a in recent Delta Dental Plans Association poll of 900 dental care consumers age 25 and older, 83% of benefit plan participants visit their dentist twice or more a year versus 63% of those who pay for their treatment out of pocket.

While 88% of the respondents received employer-paid dental care, 12% paid for voluntary benefits coverage. One troubling statistic that the nonprofit group noted in its 2008 Community Benefit Annual Report is that there are more than 3,700 locations across the U.S. without enough dental health professionals to help serve an estimated 46 million Americans.

EBN's February report, "Chipped teeth," further explores how cost-cutting and the recession are affecting dental benefits offerings and usage.

Tip of the Day: Maintain that dental plan

Sure, it's not as "sexy" and newsmaking as other benefits, like health care and retirement plans. And it's not the "unicorn" benefit that might get you on the Fortune list, like sushi bars and onsite massages. But dental benefits arguably are the tortoise to health benefits hare, and a new survey from Delta Dental cements their value among consumers.

BenefitNews.com reports Delta Dental Plans Association recently issued survey results showing that workers with employer-sponsored dental benefits are more likely to visit their dentists for checkups than other workers.

For example, 83% of participants with dental benefits visit the dentist twice or more a year, compared to 63% of consumers who pay out of pocket for their dental benefits or dental care. Moreover, employed adults lose more than 64 million hours of work each year due to dental disease or dental visits.

Click here to read more survey results and related EBN dental coverage.