Floridians who lost health coverage in the recession and Medicaid patients are increasingly turning to emergency rooms for dental care, driving up costs for the uninsured and taxpayers, a study reported Thursday.
More than 115,000 people went to the hospital last year for dental care that could have been prevented or done at a much lower cost in a dentist's office, said officials of the Florida Oral Health Coalition, which did the study. That's up 9 percent since 2008. More than 15,500 of them were children.
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