Ocasio-Cortez used a recent Instagram Story post to talk about how she is getting braces again and how orthodontic treatment is not about looks but about overall health.
On Friday, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) took to her Instagram Story to share how she is preparing to get braces again. The Congresswoman had braces as a child and a retainer as a teenager, but when the retainer broke in her 20s, she “couldn’t afford an orthodontist.”
“I had to GET ELECTED TO CONGRESS for me to afford dental treatment,” she wrote on her Instagram Story, sharing that this is the first time she has had health insurance coverage that can cover the cost.
Ocasio-Cortez used her story to talk about the need for better access to health insurance coverage—including dental coverage—as well as to point out that orthodontic treatment isn’t just about looks.
“It’s about your HEALTH. Not having your bite lined up correctly can be painful and contribute to other health problems (which are also more expensive later on, not just for you but for our WHOLE SOCIETY). DENTAL HEALTHCARE IS HEALTHCARE,” she wrote.
