Going dental

As most have probably noticed by now, the Graduate and Professional Student Organization has been lobbying for dental coverage since last fall. For the first time, however, IU President Adam Herbert has agreed to address the issue, asking Interim IU-Bloomington Chancellor Ken Gros Louis to consider it within the next few months.\nIn a sea of recent negative publicity for Herbert, this is a positive move for the president. We hope he will follow through and eventually grant our overworked graduate students the health insurance expansion they deserve.\nCurrently, IU is one of only two Big Ten schools that doesn't provide dental health coverage to graduate and professional student employees. Although IU prides itself on being an outstanding university, this is the kind of statistic where it is detrimental to stand out.\nIU's budget committee will receive quotes from insurance providers in the spring for the cost of adding dental coverage to the current medical plan. But the cost of not having dental coverage can be huge for graduate students. \nFor example, a root canal generally costs about $1,000 by the time all expenses are covered. With a yearly salary between $10,000 and $12,000, that much money is potentially catastrophic. Can we really expect anyone to do productive work when he or she is faced with spending 10 percent of his or her annual income on a trip to the dentist?\nAs a research university, IU relies heavily on grad students' work for both teaching and researching. For some of the most highly qualified students, dental coverage might mean the difference between selecting IU or another school. When we attract the best and brightest candidates, we ensure undergraduates get the best education possible. Dental insurance could possibly even increase undergraduate graduation rates, as most undergraduates spend their first year or two -- the time period wherein they're most at-risk for dropping out -- being taught principally by graduate students. \nDental coverage will increase job satisfaction, which means students affected will do better work for the University. This, in turn, will bring more money into IU, and that can't be bad.\nAlthough as a society we tend to believe that dental coverage is optional or an added bonus, the truth is that everyone deserves it. Dental health is an important part of general health, and untreated dental problems can lead to serious problems elsewhere in the body.\nThe bottom line is that providing dental coverage to graduate students makes good sense, financially and compassionately. A toothless smile should not be the gift IU bestows upon its hard- working graduate students.