Dental and Vision Care

Teeth and eyes are not accessories. You cannot work, study, drive or serve in the military properly if you cannot see or if your mouth is a disaster. SAFECARE folds dental and vision into the system in a way that is realistic and focused on what actually matters for health.

Kids get the widest coverage, because that is where early investment pays off the most. SAFECARE covers for children:

• Regular checkups and cleanings
• Fillings and basic restorative work
• Treatment of infections and dental emergencies
• Orthodontics when there is a clear medical need, like severe bite problems
• Eye exams
• Basic glasses and replacements when vision changes
• Treatment of eye diseases that threaten sight

The idea is simple. No child should miss school, fall behind in reading or live with constant pain because the family could not afford a dentist or glasses.

For adults, SAFECARE draws a line between essential health and optional cosmetics.

• Exams and cleanings on a regular schedule
• Fillings and basic restorations
• Treatment of infections, abscesses and dental emergencies
• Extractions when necessary
• Medically necessary procedures linked to other conditions, for example dental work that must be done before heart surgery or cancer treatment

• Routine eye exams at reasonable intervals
• Basic prescription glasses and necessary changes when vision shifts
• Medically necessary eye care, including cataract surgery, glaucoma treatment, retinal disease and other serious conditions

Cosmetic whitening, purely cosmetic veneers, luxury frames and similar upgrades are outside the SAFECARE floor. Laser vision correction for convenience, not medical need, sits in the same category. Those are things people can buy through private supplemental coverage if they want them.

There are three reasons dental and vision cannot be left outside the core.

• First, they drive other health problems. Untreated dental disease is linked to heart disease, diabetes complications and low birth weight. Poor vision is tied to accidents, lost work and worse outcomes in school. Ignoring them only pushes bigger, more expensive crises into the hospital side.
• Second, they are basic dignity. You cannot seriously talk about "workforce participation" and "personal responsibility" and then design a system where someone cannot afford a simple filling or a pair of glasses.
• Third, they are exactly the kind of care that private plans like to dodge, because they are predictable and common. SAFECARE brings them into the national floor so that they are handled rationally and publicly instead of chopped up into discount coupon gimmicks.

Under SAFECARE:

• Children get full basic dental and vision care as part of growing up healthy.
• Adults get essential dental and eye care that protects health, function and safety.
• Cosmetic and luxury extras are left for private supplemental coverage.

So when someone asks "what about dental and eye care", the answer is clear. They are in the plan where they belong, with enough detail to protect health and function, and without pretending that white strips and designer frames are a federal obligation.