In Springfield, Illinois where fluoridation is state-mandated: "One symptom of the problem is the number of people showing up at emergency rooms with dental pain. St. John’s Hospital served 1,975 such patients, or 3.3 percent of its total emergency department volume, in the most recent fiscal year, compared to 1,692 the previous year.

At Memorial, dental patients make up about 2 percent of all ER patients – 1,400 such patients in 2009, up from 906 in 2006.

“You know they’re in serious pain — it’s comparable to migraine-headache pain,” said Dr. Dennis Adams, who has spent years staffing Memorial Medical Center’s emergency department."

“'We’re sort of putting bubblegum in a dam,' said Adams, who has seen chipped teeth in the mouths of patients who have tried, and failed, to pull their own teeth. 'It’s pretty sad,' he said."

"The average dentist earns $186,000 a year in the Midwest, according to the state dental society."