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Boy Dies From Bad Tooth

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 28 2007 4:00 PM

Submitted by Bitch_PhD. Edited By erin_broadley.

TAGS: health care, insurance

So what happens when kids don't have insurance?

They can die. From a bad tooth. Which abscesses. Spreading infection to the brain.

Horrific summary: the boy's brother had several abscessed teeth, the result of a dentist who "discontinued the treatments . . . after the boy squirmed too much in the chair." (Dude needs to lose his license.) It took a month after the abscesses started to find an oral surgeon who'd see the kid, two months to get a consultation, and another month and a half for the appointment. During which time the family's Medicaid lapsed, so they had to cancel the appointment.

Then Deamonte, in the picture, comes home with a headache, ends up in the hospital, has two brain surgeries, and dies after telling his mother to "make sure you pray before you go to sleep."

Poor children are more than twice as likely to have cavities as their more affluent peers, research shows, but far less likely to get treatment.

Serious and costly medical consequences are "not uncommon," said Norman Tinanoff, chief of pediatric dentistry at the University of Maryland Dental School in Baltimore. For instance, Deamonte's bill for two weeks at Children's alone was expected to be between $200,000 and $250,000. The federal government requires states to provide oral health services to children through Medicaid programs, but the shortage of dentists who will treat indigent patients remains a major barrier to care.

Because Medicaid doesn't pay them enough.

104 Comments

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... 7

CountVertigo

Ann Arbor, MI

June 2005

FEB 28, 2007 04:10 PM

Jesus.

Socialized medicine, anyone?

Daven

SUICIDEGIRL

Illinois, USA

FEB 28, 2007 04:14 PM

Minceir

I'm lost

September 2004

FEB 28, 2007 04:21 PM

here if you have a tooth with an abscess under it, you go to the front of the line and it gets treated straight away. It is careless for a doctor not to have an immediate treatment!

Salem

SUICIDEGIRL

Mississippi, USA

FEB 28, 2007 04:25 PM

That is just too sad

TheFox

Carrboro, NC

February 2006

FEB 28, 2007 04:25 PM

We were just above the poverty line when I was growing up. I went to the dentist for the first time at the age of 17, with several cavities.

Imagine what could have happened.

Why doesn't anyone listen to any of this? Why are we outraged at things that don't matter, yet dismissive toward things that matter most?

Oh, because we like to ignore things that might actually require, I don't know... work?

I hate us, sometimes. So very very much.

Dark_Templar

Auburn, CA

June 2004

FEB 28, 2007 04:32 PM

So what happens when kids don't brush their teeth?.......

..........They can die.

Yes it is a sad story, but this is also why you should practice oral hygiene

Burzum

San Juan Capistrano, CA

July 2004

FEB 28, 2007 04:45 PM

This is a huge argument for universal healthcare. Why America is America the only first world country without socialized healthcare?

How common is this, though? I've never heard of anyone dying from a cavity before. I thought the extent was that your tooth became rotten and fell out. This is a freak accident, right?

EvilBunny

Stafford, VA

May 2006

FEB 28, 2007 04:46 PM

i have an enzyme defiency that has made my teeth rot out completely for the most part..because my jaws apparently don't produce or enough and produce the wrong thigns for my teeth. a fellow in my area, his name is chris as well, who plays or the most amazing band DARKEST HOUR also went through this recently..i have lsot most of my teeth, as well as chris did.

anyway, in the process i had to wait a bit cos i went over my yearly amount of $3600 and had to save up so cash ot the money to keep the fixes goin and i had one tooth abcess and the whole side fo my face was horrid, from the infection in the tisse and i got eventally got sick after 3 days and had it pulled instead of repaired. it was incredibly painful aswell, before and after.

why can't the gov'tstep up and do that shit they always talk baot, these children need help.

sorry for the long rant everyone.

Tangus

Chicago, IL

November 2005

FEB 28, 2007 04:48 PM

you know what would've cleared that problem right up?

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

redmess

Vanuatu

August 2004

FEB 28, 2007 04:51 PM

sure am glad all our tax dollars go to war.
fucking despicable.

KMFCM

Peekskill, NY

September 2002

FEB 28, 2007 04:54 PM

isn't that how the guy from God Lives Underwater died too??

JinkMaiden

Duluth, GA

February 2007

FEB 28, 2007 04:59 PM

I am suddenly thanking my lucky stars that my dad was so absolutely bloody annoying about oral hygiene. He checked our teeth every morning and night to make sure we'd brushed them. I mean, literally, he'd make us open our mouths and check them out carefully. I always thought he was just being a prick but...we were ridiculously broke most of the time so I guess he was looking out for us.

Ha. 1 point Dad, zero points me

On the other hand, this does seem like a very extreme case. Makes me sad tho

theconservative

Antarctica

October 2004

FEB 28, 2007 05:00 PM

my sister ha three kids on medicaid...the ONE thing you don't do is let it lapse. that's rule number one. the help is there, you just have to be willing to wade through the red tape to get it. i hate to say it, the reason it lapsed is because the kid's mother didn't do her paperwork. it's not the government's fault.

Odette

SUICIDEGIRL

California, USA

FEB 28, 2007 05:03 PM

Dark_Templar said:

So what happens when kids don't brush their teeth?.......

..........They can die.

Yes it is a sad story, but this is also why you should practice oral hygiene

and proper nutrition.

its so sad that this happened in a place with such great resources. people really should be given more access to the health care they need.

FistFuck

HOPEFUL

San Antonio, TX

FEB 28, 2007 05:05 PM

Thats terrible!!! I myself have had several accesses... with subsequent root canals. This is tragic. The health care here really does suck for those that don't make enough money... and dentistry is extremely expensive. Several root canals can cost thousands of dollars that most people don't have. Its not always poor oral hygiene that leads to these things. I have bad eating habits (lots of soda) and i sleep with my mouth open which is really bad for cavities.

Until our health care changes this will happen. Its ridiculous and pathetic.