“It’s probably worse than you can even imagine,” said Elizabeth Mertz, a UC San Francisco professor and Healthforce Center researcher who studies barriers to dental care for seniors. Advertisement AdvertisementI’m lucky to have a great dentist and dental coverage through my employer, but as anyone with a private plan knows, dental insurance can barely be called insurance. By some estimates, half of U.S. residents 65 and older have no dental insurance. “You can get a week’s vacation and dental work and still come out ahead of what you’d be paying in the U.S.,” she said. She has also worked at a Skid Row dental clinic, and plans after graduation to work at a clinic where dental care is free or discounted.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 28, 2026 13:19 UTC