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In Connecticut, fluoridation is state-mandated. This article describes "third-world" conditions in oral health because of lack of dental care: Dental Needs Unmet At least 1 million Connecticut residents, and possibly as many as 1.5 million — more than one-third of the state — lack dental insurance, according to the state dental association, and a new state medical plan for the uninsured, which includes tens of thousands of children, will not help. More than 1,000 of those uninsured people braved driving rain, lightning and long lines in the pre-dawn chill this past weekend to take advantage of Connecticut's Mission of Mercy, the state's first large-scale free dental clinic that opened for two days in Tolland. State Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., a Brooklyn Democrat, walked among them. After two hours of listening to people's stories, Williams had heard and seen enough. "It's overwhelming," said a stunned Williams as he stood in the crowded clinic about 7 a.m. "If there is any doubt in people's minds about the need for greater access to health care, people should come here and see this." Those who got in to see one of the nearly 190 dentists volunteering their time at the old Tolland High School were lucky. The wait might be much longer for others. Of the approximately 3,000 licensed dentists in the state, only about 400 take HUSKY clients. Of those, only about 100 take HUSKY patients as a large part of their business, Dingeldey said. "What we saw this past weekend were folks who we think have access to our health care system but who don't have access to dental care," said Williams, the only politician who arrived early enough Saturday to see the long lines in the dark and rain. "These are folks who work hard for a living, but who are struggling to pay their bills at the end of the month," he said. When it comes to a choice between dental care and keeping the lights on or putting food on the table, advocates say, dental care is usually the first to go. http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3138&q=410264.