Dear Editor,

Dear Editor,

I attended the healthcare round table with Tim Ryan on Saturday. Although I was happy to share my personal story about chasing healthcare insurance due to a preexisting condition, I was mainly there as an oral healthcare professional. Unfortunately, that important part of my message seemed to get lost, and was not a part of your article in Sunday’s Vindicator.

I am a dental hygienist and see how poor oral health can affect the entire body. Oral healthcare, including dental, is the number one unmet healthcare need in America. Poor oral health can lead to systemic disease. Plus abscesses can spread to the brain, and may even result in death. I have traveled overseas on dental mission trips, and have seen the affects of a lack of oral health care.

I was at that meeting to encourage our leaders to include oral health in the Healthcare bill. I heard a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic once ask, “When did the head get disconnected from the body?” The answer is NEVER! There should never have been a distinction between “medical” and “dental”, they are all connected. I hope that something can be done about that soon.

Krista Ventresco R.D.H.

213 Bouquet Ave.

Youngstown, Ohio 44509

330-270-1367

330-518-5597