Attention to dental coverage lacking in health-care debate - St. Petersburg Times

Attention to dental coverage lacking in health-care debate - St. Petersburg Times:

"Flo Turner, who has lost all but 17 teeth, takes Lidocaine for pain. A Medicaid patient, she has been turned down by 62 dentists." Tampa Florida is fluoridated.

UK Against Fluoridation: Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment,

UK Against Fluoridation: Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment,:

"Here in fluoridated Ireland dental fluorosis now affects every third child, a 700% increase since 1984."

"Three in four Irish children suffer tooth decay by the age of 15, while 50% of five year olds have decay in their baby teeth..."
http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=10408

Hundreds line up for free dental care in N.C. | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

Hundreds line up for free dental care in N.C. | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com:

"The free dental clinic attracted as many as 600 people seeking care from about 150 volunteer dentists and hygienists...

A second clinic is scheduled today, with about the same number expected to wait for help on a first-come, first-served basis.

'The need is great,' said Chapel Hill dentist Keith Taylor, a regular volunteer with the Missions of Mercy dental program. 'There's well over 1-1/2 million people in this state that absolutely cannot afford the basic dental services.'"

"Many of the people who come to the free clinics are in discomfort from gum disease, abscesses or severe cavities, Taylor said.

'In general, we probably do three times as many extractions as we do fillings because pain is a great motivator,' Taylor said. 'When people are in pain, they want to be seen.'"

North Carolina is 88% fluoridated

Majority of Americans agree that children should get good dental care and medical care

Majority of Americans agree that children should get good dental care and medical care: "'Unfortunately, some 130 million Americans don't have dental coverage,'"

Dental care access study OK'd | marshfieldnewsherald.com | Marshfield News-Herald: "MADISON --

Wisconsin is 90% fluoridated but has a dental shortage because the need for oral health care is so great. "A $200,000 study a state commission approved Wednesday to find a solution to the shortage of dentists in northern Wisconsin could recommend that a dental school be built in Marshfield."

“I don’t want to meet any more Vietnam veterans like the one who had to pull his own abscessed tooth because he couldn’t see a dentist,” said Sen. Senator Robert Jauch, D-Poplar, whose legislation secured funding in the 2009-11 state budget for the study.

Shrinking Dental Coverage Hurts Kids | digtriad.com | Triad, NC | Local and State News Article

Shrinking Dental Coverage Hurts Kids | digtriad.com | Triad, NC | Local and State News Article:

"'We have kids that... may need 10, 12, 14 teeth fixed, said Dr. Pierce. 'Those families, they'll reach... their policy's max very quickly.'" Greensboro, NC is fluoridated

CMAJ: United States faces dentist shortage

Canadian Medical Association Journal: United States faces dentist shortage:

"Residents of the United States who need teeth extracted may soon have to do it the old-fashioned way — with pliers, whiskey and elbow grease — because there may not be enough dentists to go around."

"American dentists are often reluctant to open offices in rural areas, a situation that will only be exacerbated when the number of practicing dentists starts to decline in 2014. To obtain dental care, many rural residents will have to rely on organizations like the Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corp., which operates [free] clinics" which pop up sporadically to meet extremely long lines of people needing urgent dental care.

Also most dentists refuse Medicaid patients and 130 million Americans don't have dental insurance.

"Further compounding the problem are such factors as a continuing migration from general practice to specialties like orthodontics, the closure of dental schools, a decrease in the size of graduating classes, the forthcoming mass retirement of older dentists and the growing number of female dentists, who tend to work fewer hours than their male colleagues."

Minnesota Dentists Warn Halloween Shoppers: Sour Candies May Trick, Not Treat Teeth | Reuters

Minnesota Dentists Warn Halloween Shoppers: Sour Candies May Trick, Not Treat Teeth | Reuters:

"'As dentists, we see an alarming number of children with permanent erosion of the dental enamel on their teeth,' says Dr. Bruce Templeton, a practicing dentist in Minneapolis who is also president of the Minnesota Dental Association." In Minnesota, fluoridation is state-mandated.

Oral health draft report shelved after two years - The Irish Times - Tue, Oct 20, 2009

Oral health draft report shelved after two years - The Irish Times - Tue, Oct 20, 2009:

Ireland is the only country that mandates fluoridation country-wide.

"The unpublished Oral Health Policy details how general oral health has improved but outlined 'how this is not the case among certain groups, including medical card holders and children under five years of age'.

It states that 'the total State investment in oral health is estimated at in excess of €250 million annually'.

The policy is critical of how current public dental schemes are failing those they are designed to help, in particular children, people with special needs and older people in care.

It states that there is 'an apparent mismatch between peaks in childhood caries and age range on which public dental treatment focuses . . . It is clear that young people need more preventive dental care and advice and their oral hygiene and dietary habits must improve'."

Medicaid recipients search for dental care-wvpubcast.org

Medicaid recipients search for dental care-wvpubcast.org: "For many of the state’s 390,000 Medicaid recipients, the difficulty in finding a dentist is hitting the crisis stage.

Twelve thousand patients from a four county region travel the narrow rural roads to Oceana, W.Va., population 1550, for dental care"

"Moore and Brown are among the very few [dentists] who do not limit the number of Medicaid patients they’re willing to see."

West Virginia is 92% fluoridated.

Healthier teeth | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal

Healthier teeth | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal:

"A New York Times article in 2007, headlined “In Kentucky's Teeth, Toll of Neglect and Poverty,” painted a dismal portrait. It said, for example, that half the people of Eastern Kentucky didn't have health insurance and that fewer than half of Kentucky's dentists regularly accepted Medicaid. So no surprise: Kentucky leads the nation in the number of people 65 and over with missing teeth. And nearly half of Kentucky's children ages 2-4, a survey found in 2001, had tooth decay."

Fluoridation is state-mandated in Kentucky. Kentucky spending even more money on tooth care:
"The effort will be financed by $1.6 million in federal grants, matched with state resources."

Action for Children North Carolina - June 24, 2008: First-of-Its-Kind Report Addresses School Readiness in North Carolina

Action for Children North Carolina - June 24, 2008: First-of-Its-Kind Report Addresses School Readiness in North Carolina:

North Carolina is 88% fluoridated: "Data indicators for Ready Children were gleaned mainly from the N.C. Kindergarten Health Assessment, a form completed by a health professional about each child starting kindergarten in North Carolina. Statewide data suggests that up to 35% of North Carolina’s 2- to 4-year-olds are outside the normal weight range and 1-in-5 children start school with untreated tooth decay"

Tulsa World: Volunteer registration under way for dental clinic

Tulsa World: Volunteer registration under way for dental clinic:

Tulsa is fluoridated: "At least 400 volunteers are needed for a mammoth dental clinic Feb. 5-6 at the Tulsa Convention Center that will provide free tooth extractions, fillings and cleanings to people who otherwise couldn't afford them."

New Kentucky Program Aimed At Improving Smiles | WJTV.com

New Kentucky Program Aimed At Improving Smiles | WJTV.com:

"Beshear says Kentucky had the most people in the country with missing teeth in people over age 65 in a 2004 study, and more than a quarter of all residents had lost six or more teeth to tooth decay or gum disease. A 2001 study found nearly half of kids age 4 or younger had untreated dental issues, more than double the national average." In Kentucky, fluoridated is state-mandated.

Local News Briefs | PostIndependent.com

Local News Briefs | PostIndependent.com:

"In Colorado, 7.8 million hours of school are lost each year due to oral pain." Colorado is 74% fluoridated.

A Cavity in Medicaid Dental Coverage � The Washington Independent

A Cavity in Medicaid Dental Coverage � The Washington Independent: "Not even a third of the nation’s lowest-income children receive dental care, and Congress isn’t doing a thing about it.

Although Medicaid, the federal-state partnership covering America’s poorest kids, provides dental coverage for all children enrolled in the program, it’s a phantom benefit for most: roughly 12.6 million kids, or 66 percent, don’t get dental care at all."

Critical Condition: Oral Infections Tax Emergency Room Resources - KYPost.com

Critical Condition: Oral Infections Tax Emergency Room Resources - KYPost.com:

Kentucky where fluoridation is state-mandated: "The Northern Kentucky Health Department says as many as 20% of emergency room visits are oral health related."

A mouthful of problems - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca

A mouthful of problems - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca:

"Early childhood caries are on the rise among Nova Scotian children" Nova Scotia is fluoridated.

The photo shows a three-year-­old’s teeth — or what’s left of them.

Most of his 20 teeth are ravaged by cav­ities. Many are simply reddish-brown stumps.

“Here’s the bad things that happen," Dr. Anderson said in a recent interview. “Pain, infection. We see two, three kids a week whose faces swell up and we have to drain the pus to make them better."

About 350 children, ranging from toddlers to teens, are wait­ing for surgery at the IWK alone.

Jamaica's dentist-to-patient ratio one of the region's worst, says professor - JamaicaObserver.com

Jamaica's dentist-to-patient ratio one of the region's worst, says professor - JamaicaObserver.com:


"'The demand for proper dental care cannot be fulfilled without proper professional leadership in the area of dental care. And even though we have the training of dental auxiliaries, even though we have put in place the policies of fluoridation of our water supplies so as to decrease dental caries,' he said."

"Jamaica, he said, has one of the worst incidence of peridontal diseases in the world."

The American Way of Dentistry: Why poor folks are short on teeth. - By June Thomas - Slate Magazine

The American Way of Dentistry: Why poor folks are short on teeth. - By June Thomas - Slate Magazine:

"American dentists provide outstanding care to the people who can afford it, but they are failing the other half of the nation that can't."

"In 2007, the difficulty Medicaid recipients experience acquiring dental treatment hit the news when Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old from Prince George's County, Md., died after bacteria from an untreated dental abscess spread to his brain."