When it comes to oral health, prevention is always better than cure. Prevention is not solely about tooth decay and gum disease. More and more, links are being found between oral health and general wellbeing. Employers with health and wellbeing on their agenda want to ensure their benefits are providing healthy outcomes for their employees. As such, dental is being pushed to the forefront when organisations are selecting from available benefit options. A healthy workforce has a pronounced impact on motivation, productivity and can also reduce staff absenteeism.
In the Corporate decision makers survey 2016 carried out by Denplan, it was found that health and wellbeing was firmly on the HR agenda with 75% of organisations surveyed saying they had a wellbeing strategy in place. Of those employers with wellbeing strategies, 42% said their strategy sits in the middle of the preventive-corrective spectrum, although overall there was a bias with 39% of saying their strategy is more preventive in approach.
It is always better to identify and prevent problems before they begin. Regular visits to a dentist should reduce the need for future treatments like fillings, root canal treatments and crowns. According to Denplan/YouGov research published in January 2016, over half (52%) of people would cancel an appointment if they had financial worries. However, regular dental check-ups can reduce the risk of costly dental issues and emergencies occurring which helps ensure a lifetime of good oral and general health.
Interestingly, 90% of UK adults agree that the better they look after their teeth and gums, the better chance they have of avoiding expensive and invasive dental treatment in the future, according to The state of oral health in Europe report published by Platform for Better Oral Health in September 2012.
As shown by research published by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research in March 2016, What is the relationship between oral health and general health and wellbeing?, the links between gum disease and various chronic conditions such as diabetes, strokes and heart disease are now widely recognised. Dental problems can disrupt how people eat, their quality of sleep, performance at work as well as cause emotional problems. Having happy, healthy employees who regularly visit a dentist close to work results in less time and money lost to the organisation in staff absenteeism. And what is more, employees with a preventive benefit like a dental plan in place could also reduce an organisation’s private medical insurance premiums.
Unlike other medical professionals, dental professionals see ‘healthy’ patients every single day, affording them the opportunity to highlight the importance of prevention and the risks associated with not looking after oral health.
The British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy (BSDHT) calculated that work missed due to oral health problems costs the UK economy more than £36m every year. In addition, 415,000 people miss at least one day of work due to oral health-related problems and 20% of people would call in sick if they had a toothache.
These issues can easily be resolved by educating employees on the important roles dentists play in preventive healthcare. Some 47% of employers which offer a dental plan said that a dental plan helps to manage staff absences and time taken off for illness, and 41% of those that offer a dental plan said that dental insurance is the benefit they consider to be of most value to employees, according to the aforementioned Denplan Corporate decision makers survey 2016. And while the responsibility is ultimately down to the employee, it is arguable that employers have a role to play in communicating the importance of good oral health to their employees.
The number of dental plans being offered as an employee benefit has been steadily increasing since 2010. Any organisation focusing on the health and wellbeing of its employees should be seeking positive outcomes from its selected benefits. And when evidence strongly suggests that dental healthcare can be a key indicator in the detection and early diagnosis of more serious conditions, it is surely time to recognise that dental benefits should be used as an important overall healthcare benefit.
Vittoria Gallagher is corporate marketing executive at Denplan
