This is really a self-serving proposal that has little merit in the real world of budget deficits.   As others have noted, most dental problems can be avoided by proper dental care - flossing and brushing.  There is little excuse for the author to expect the taxpayer to pay for his dental care when he obviously has not made even a minimal effort to take care of himself first.  What really upsets me is the practice of socialists who declare that everything that they want is a (new) "right" that has to be paid for by others.   I am reminded of the famous Margaret Thatcher comment that the problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money.