JG-TC.com > News > Dental care for low-income families bad but getting better, say officials

JG-TC.com > News > Dental care for low-income families bad but getting better, say officials

40 Dentists in fluoridated Illinois refuse to treat this 2-Yr-old with severe tooth decay

"Instead of a gleaming top row of petit incisors, the front of the toddler’s mouth offered a fetid mass of blackened tissue protruding through shards of teeth — schrapnel from Austin’s collision with a metal swingset in early June.

"For almost three weeks — practically an eternity to Austin’s parents, Kyle and Rebecca Shupe of Neoga — the young boy lived on liquified foods while his mother tried desperately to find a dentist to remove the shattered bits of teeth lodged in her son’s infected gums.

'It seemed like nobody wanted to take us because of the (state) medical card,' said Rebecca, who called more than 40 area dentists."

Concern voiced over poor dental care - Breaking News - National - Breaking News

"Australians are being hospitalised with life-threatening illnesses because they can't afford dental care, a leading consumer group says." [2/3 of Australians receive fluoridated water)

Concern voiced over poor dental care - Breaking News - National - Breaking News:

"The Australian Consumers Association (ACA) said in its magazine Choice tens of thousands of hospital admissions could have been prevented if patients had had early treatment for dental problems.

'Alarmingly there are many reported cases of treatable dental infections spreading to the eye, brain or into the neck or chest cavity,' ACA spokeswoman Indira Naidoo said."

Edelman Speaks Out For Children

Edelman Speaks Out For Children:

"One 12-year-old boy, Deamonte, was refused care by 26 dentists because they wouldn't treat Medicaid patients, she said. The infection in his teeth spread to his brain and he died last year after spending two weeks in the hospital at a cost to taxpayers of $250,000. Removing his abscessed tooth would have cost $80."

Herald & Review | Local News:Program to fill children's dental health needs

In fluoridation-mandated Illinois:

Herald & Review | Local News:Program to fill children's dental health needs: "The Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation, a grant-making organization, will invest at least $20 million over the next five years in targeted efforts to give children increased access to oral health care services."

"Tooth decay is one of the biggest problems plaguing children. Studies show 55 percent of third-graders in Illinois have some tooth decay and 30 percent have 'significant' tooth decay, with the most being from low-income families."

"The first step for the healthcare foundation's new initiative will be to increase the number of oral health professionals caring for underserved children"

"'We know what it takes to fix this; it's not like a new disease,' Kerr added. 'It's a question of rallying up the forces and building systems to put in place for kids that don't have access.'"

Many Dentists Won't Fix Poor Children's Bad Teeth - New York Times

Many Dentists Won't Fix Poor Children's Bad Teeth - New York Times: "The National Institute of Dental Research predicts that children born today can avoid cavities completely, but only if given decent dental care" (1999)

"The New York Dental Society, a professional association, sued the state in February, saying that the state-run Medicaid program reimbursed dentists at rates so low that most refused to treat Medicaid patients. Of New York's 17,000 dentists, fewer than 1,200 handed in Medicaid claims in 1997, according to the State Health Department."

Study: 'Dire Local Oral Health Situation' - Health - RedOrbit

Study: 'Dire Local Oral Health Situation' - Health - RedOrbit:

"When looking for a place to open a practice, many private dentists are reluctant to choose neighborhoods with a high percentage of uninsured residents, said Lynn Pilant, manager of the Children's Oral Health Program."

ContraCostaTimes.com - Low-income children face dental needs

ContraCostaTimes.com - Low-income children face dental needs:

"Untreated dental disease remains a serious problem for low-income children in Contra Costa County, with 12 percent in need of urgent treatment for rotting teeth, infections and other painful conditions."

Contra Costa County, California, is fluoridated

SAGE_11-28-3.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Yale University's SAGE Magazine:
"The Furor Over Fluoride," by Katherine Jamieson

But I don't eat Fluoride, do I?
Sure you do. It's in:
Toothpaste
Juice, Soda, Gatorade
Wine
Tea
Salt
Cereals
Fish & Canned Fish
Pureed Baby Food
Artificially Deboned Chicken (eeewwww! Gross)
Chicken Sticks
Lunch Meats
Powdered Infant Formula
Breast Milk

Tampabay: Fluoride, a longtime blessing, now a curse?

Tampabay: Fluoride, a longtime blessing, now a curse?:

"Whatever it's called, the major portion of the fluorosilic acid added to the nation's water supply comes from Florida's phosphate fertilizer industry. Here's how:

Florida's phosphate rock is about 3.5 percent fluorine. To make phosphoric acid for fertilizer, the rock is mixed with sulfuric acid. The mixture produces a gas called silicon tetrafluoride. The gas is sent through ductwork and a water scrubber to create fluorosilic acid, a clear liquid that in high concentrations is toxic. The acid is what fertilizer companies sell as a fluoride additive. It's diluted to what's considered a safe level when pumped into water supplies.

Source: Florida Institute of Phosphate Research"

Fluoride contamination is putting Yemeni bones at risk

Fluoride contamination is putting Yemeni bones at risk:

"The number of children who are suffering from rickets, a softening of the bones in children potentially leading to fractures and deformity, is increasing in the Sanhan district in Sana’a governorate, said a new Yemeni study. The results of the study were presented in a meeting held at UNICEF on Sunday, May 28. A large number of Sanhanis are suffering from osteomalacia, a condition similar to rickets occurring in adults, as well as tooth decay and corrosion, as a result of increasing the fluoride in the drinking water in this area."

Why poor kids can't find a dentist. - By Anne Alstott - Slate Magazine

Why poor kids can't find a dentist. - By Anne Alstott - Slate Magazine:

"In congressional testimony, one Maryland dentist reported that his staff called 748 dentists listed as Medicaid providers and found that only 23 percent would take new Medicaid patients."

Winston-Salem Journal | LONG BRIDGE: Americans travel to India for dental work, and like their experience

Winston-Salem Journal | LONG BRIDGE: Americans travel to India for dental work, and like their experience:

"Google the words “dental tourism in India” and 968,000 entries pop up in 0.15 second. The Internet has encouraged a new form of outsourcing to India, as increasing numbers of Americans fly there to get their teeth cleaned and capped. Some patients mix the procedures with sightseeing. Others simply go for the porcelain bridges and fly right back."


"“Going to a dentist here [U.S.] is so ridiculously expensive,” Pamela said. “The prices are wicked! I had two terribly bad dentists here and had lost all confidence in them.'”

"John Rawold was told by his dentist in Atlanta that he would have to pay about $11,000 for new veneers. Wanting a cheaper alternative, he found Sabadra’s Web site on the Internet."


“I was able to combine a vacation to Mumbai and Goa with expert dental care, including a set of eight high-quality veneers, airfare, 10 nights in five-star hotels and all the extras that come with being on vacation, and I still managed to save more than $5,000,” Rawold wrote on Sabadra’s Web site."

NiagaraThisWeek.com: Article: Fluoride in water once again under debate

NiagaraThisWeek.com: Article: Fluoride in water once again under debate:

"The region continued to operate the fluoridation systems in Thorold and Welland for years, but the corrosive nature of the chemical led to ongoing leaks and breakdowns in the water treatment systems. Regional figures show the destructive effect of fluoride on water systems meant the Welland water treatment plant was out of service 60 per cent of the time."

Fluoride and Your Teeth

Fluoride and Your Teeth: "Can Fluoride Cause Harm?


Fluoride-supplement tablets should be stored safely away from young children.... Dentists limit the amount of tablets they prescribe at one time because the toxic dose of fluoride for a 2-year-old child weighing 22 pounds is 320 milligrams. To avoid any chance of overdose, do not stock up on fluoride tablets...

Toxic fluoride doses are based on weight, and a toxic dose of fluoride for an 8-year-old child weighing 45 pounds is 655 milligrams."

Dentist goes mobile to fill county need

Dentist goes mobile to fill county need: "When Esuola first traveled with the Colgate-Palmolive van to different locations throughout Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, she noticed more and more children with untreated cavities or who needed braces, she said."

Washington D.C. is 100% fluorirated. Maryland and Virginia are 94% fluoridated.

Des Moines Register:

Quietly, many physicians have begun to consider the temporal link between the fluoridation of drinking water and the timing of the neurologic disease increases since the 1970s.

The concern being that, like the Gulf War syndrome story, fluoride could be affecting what crosses the blood brain barrier, and in what amounts.


- Steven L Harlan, M.D.,