Kentucky Legislators and Medicaid Officials Convened at Kool Smiles' Bashford Office To Discuss Importance of Access to Oral Health Care

95% of Kentucky residents live in fluoridated areas and fluoride supplements are given to children who don't: "'With the oral health crisis continuing to be one of the largest challenges our state's [Kentucky]children have to face, we're excited to have Kool Smiles open additional access to high quality oral healthcare specifically to the children and adults who need it most,' said Senator Julie Denton, Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Committee."

Dental Problems A Serious Health Issue | TriCities

"TotalBeauty.com, a Web site that hawks beauty products, came up with a list of “The 14 Worst-Teeth Cities” and [fluoridated] Bristol, Tenn., landed at No. 6. Again, we are behind our friends in [fluoridated] Huntington, W.Va., who came in at No. 2."

Nothing to Grin About: Bristol 6th on List of "Worst Teeth" Cities | TriCities

Fluoridated "Bristol, Tenn., is sixth on TotalBeauty.com’s list of “The 14 Worst-Teeth Cities.” The study cited the region’s high number of smokers and lack of access to dental care as the top two reasons why the city made the list."

Like pulling teeth: East Naples dental clinic caters to needy kids from across Florida � Naples Daily News

"Four-year-old Alexis Deleon...had four baby teeth pulled under nitrous oxide to calm her, along with a local agent for pain... The family lives in [fluoridated] LaBelle." (Florida)

“'It was supposed to be seven (teeth pulled) but this was an emergency so they had to take them out now,'...Alexis’ situation became an emergency when her teeth began to hurt her."

Leader-Telegram Online

In 90% fluoridated Wisconsin "Tens of thousands of low-income residents who theoretically have dental coverage through BadgerCare, BadgerCare Plus or Medicaid simply can't find a dentist who will treat them. And, as Cicione learned the hard way, federal law makes it illegal for Medicaid-certified dentists to circumvent the system by accepting cash for all or part of the treatment they provide to Medicaid recipients."

Once in check, tooth decay in children surges | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

Tennessee is 94% fluoridated: "'I see a lot more decay than in the '80s,' said Dr. David Snodgrass, a pediatric dentist at Snodgrass and King, which has four offices. 'We see at least one or two kids every day in each of our offices with rampant decay.'"

Caries Detection Instrument

Despite "fluoridated communal water in the late 1940’s, professional topical fluoride applications in the early 1950’s and effective fluoride dentifrice in 1955, this disease continues to be the most prevalent dental disease afflicting more than 90% of the population."

Feds put the bite on dental health in Tasmania - Local News - News - Health - The Examiner Newspaper

Fluoridated "Tasmanians have some of the worst teeth in Australia - with a tooth being pulled once every three minutes."

Suncoast Community Health rolls out free dental program for kids - St. Petersburg Times

Tampa, Florida is fluoridated: "She sees rotten teeth all the time."

"Dental care is a huge need in the community," said Brantz Roszel, chief executive of Suncoast Health. "By partnering with as many groups as we can, we will be able to crack the ice and access the communities."

"Half of the county's 141,100 children living below the federal poverty level have tooth decay, according to state statistics from 2005, the most recent year available."

""There are children out there in chronic pain," said Dr. Ervin Cerveny, a dentist with Suncoast Health. "I see rampant decay, abscesses, you name it. It can weaken the immune system and make them prone to other infections."

Lack of access to dental care is mostly to blame, Cerveny said."

Thousands Line Up for Promise of Free Health Care - NYTimes.com

In fluoridated Los Angeles: "They came for new teeth mostly,"

"he was disappointed in the dearth of volunteers among local providers — specifically dentists and optometrists — which made it hard to provide services for all comers."

"For the second day in a row, thousands of people lined up on Wednesday — starting after midnight and snaking into the early hours — for free dental, medical and vision services, courtesy of a nonprofit group that more typically provides mobile health care for the rural poor."

Kids, Dentists and the Economy - CBS News Video

Wisconsin is 90% fluoridated:

This humanitarian program provided free dental care to approximately 1,300 patients of all ages who might not otherwise have afforded the essential services provided.

Super-clinic finds super-need in L.A. region - Los Angeles Times

In fluoridated Los Angeles, California: "On Tuesday, the turnout was so large that hundreds had to be turned away.

'We're short-handed,' said the mobile clinic's founder, Stan Brock. About 100 dentists were needed, but only about 30 showed up Tuesday."

'Demand for dental care was very high, coming weeks after the state ended adult dental services for the poor."

'Going to the dentist or getting a mammogram is a "luxury" now, she said. 'It's not deadbeats and people who just want a handout here. That's not the reality today. There are no jobs.'"

Brevard Health Alliance continues to grow as the need rises | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY

"There is almost nothing out there for indigent children," she said. "It's terrible to look into the mouth of a 3-year-old where the teeth have decayed all the way down to the gumline."
"Collazos agreed, describing the teeth of many of the children she's seen in Cocoa [Florida], so far, as 'horrible.' Although the water in the area contains fluoride...the No. 1 infection in (school-age) children is dental, as these infections work their way down to the bone and abscess.'"

Must Health Require Wealth? -- Courant.com

"Late last month, the Tennessee-based Remote Area Medical — founded to treat people in the Amazon rain forest — held their annual free three-day clinic in Wise, Va. In one day alone, 1,600 people received free dental care; one news report said dentists filled buckets with 4,000 extracted teeth.

Today, a similar eight-day effort starts in Los Angeles. In April, a free New Haven dental clinic held by Connecticut Mission of Mercy drew a couple of thousand of uninsured and under-insured residents. One Glastonbury dentist greeted the line in tears. He said it's heartbreaking that people in the second-richest state in the nation must line up for dental care at 7 p.m. the night before. At last year's Mission of Mercy, organizers had to turn away people by 7 a.m. the first day."

The Importance of Dental Coverage in our new Health Care Plan � NCL’s Savvy Consumer Blog

"130 million Americans, including 16 million children and 80 percent of seniors lack dental insurance coverage. This is more than twice the total number lacking basic health insurance."

China to monitor endemic arsenic, fluoride poisoning - People's Daily Online

"Fluorosis often results in yellow teeth, twisted spines, aching joints and deformed leg bones"

Tooth decay rates rising among young Canadians

Despite being fluoridated, "According to a survey conducted by Toronto Public Health the prevalence of early tooth decay in five-year olds studied at public schools in the city has risen from 9.8 per cent in 1999-2000 to 11.6 per cent in 2005-06, while the percentage of five-year-olds with two or more untreated decayed teeth increased from 9.9 per cent to 14.6 per cent in the same six-year stretch."

wbur.org � News � Mass Medical Clinic's Sobering Message

In the world's richest country which has fed its citizens fluoride via the water supply for over six decades, when a free dental clinic was temporarily set up, "More than 70 dentists worked shoulder-to-shoulder in an open-air pavilion, pulling teeth, filling cavities and performing root canals. The drilling was nonstop, 12 hours a day Friday and Saturday, and six hours on Sunday. Close to 4,000 teeth ended up in buckets. Some 20-year-olds had every tooth pulled. A 4-year-old had every tooth filled. Out of the hundreds treated, only 11 had dental insurance."

"the line of cars trying to get in was a mile long...Most of the people still inching up to the guards also wanted to see dentists. [After they already met their daily quota]"

Sodium Fluoride consumer information from Drugs.com

SODIUM FLUORIDE "The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of sodium fluoride. Make sure you tell your health care professional if you have any other medical problems, especially:

* Brown, white, or black discoloration of teeth or
* Joint pain or
* Kidney problems (severe) or
* Stomach ulcer—Sodium fluoride may make these conditions worse"

Clinic Demonstrates Dental Health Needs - State Journal - STATEJOURNAL.com

In 92% fluoridated West Virginia: Dental Clinic Demonstrates Dental Health Needs "In a state with profound dental needs, our state produces about twice as many lawyers each year as it does dentists. I'm not sure I understand that priority."

"It is difficult to understand, but government agencies that are charged with caring for poor adults and their children do not provide dental care for those adults."

Is it Exam Time for Georgia's School Children Already?

After 64 years of water fluoridaton in the US: "According to the CDC, more than 51 million school hours are lost each year nationwide because of dental-related illness, and more than half of children aged five to nine have had at least one cavity or filling, with 78 percent of 17-year-olds having experienced tooth decay."

The Journal of the American Dental Association August 2009, Letter by Gooch:


In the United States where most water supplies has been fluoridated for over 6 decades "More than 65 percent of adolescents from lower-income families in the United States have experienced dental caries in their permanent teeth, and more than 25 percent still have lesions that need to be treated."

Boston Globe Online / From the Archives / Health Sense

"... the American Dental Association published yet another study that showed that drinking too much fruit juice, which often contains fluoride, can trigger a process called fluorosis that leaves white or dark brown spots on kids' teeth."

Protect your child's smile - Education - MiamiHerald.com

In fluoridated Miami: "PATCH program dentists and volunteers have found that many students show signs of decay and gum disease, Utset-Ward says.

``It is really sad to see a child in pain when it is a problem that is easily treated,'' she says."

"Over the past two years, Utset-Ward has treated more than 5,000 students and found that 58 percent of the children have dental problems, such as cavities, gingivitis and decay. Children with problems are referred to their own dentists, but statistics showed that only 9 percent were fully treated, 24 percent were partially treated and 67 percent were not treated at all."

Dental patients grateful for clinic - NewsandSentinel.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Parkersburg News and Sentinel

West Virginia is 92% fluoridated: "The hallways and multi-purpose room at West Virginia University in Parkersburg were packed with patients waiting to receive free dental care. More than 700 volunteers and 70 agencies donated their time and resources to the clinic...Newhart said. 'I would say about 75 percent of the people here today needed multiple extractions done.'"