Posted on 02/28/2007 6:59:16 AM PST by montag813
WASHINGTON - Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday.
A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him.
If his mother had been insured.
If his family had not lost its Medicaid.
If Medicaid dentists weren't so hard to find.
If his mother hadn't been focused on getting a dentist for his brother, who had six rotted teeth.
By the time Deamonte's own aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After two operations and more than six weeks of hospital care, the Prince George's County boy died.
Deamonte's death and the ultimate cost of his care, which could total more than $250,000, underscore an often-overlooked concern in the debate over universal health coverage: dental care.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
My Grandfather put a string around one of my baby teeth that had come loose but wouldn't fall out and pulled it. There was no Dental Insurance in 1966 and I didn't die.
No, that's his mother in the picture, Alyce.
;-)
How sad, most dental schools will provide medicaid services.
Too bad the unemployed mother with her 5 fatherless kids didn't have time to save her son.
I'm sorry to be so 'in-sensitive' but did this family ever brush their teeth? Adolescents don't get six rotted teeth without total disregard for dental hygiene and a very unhealthy diet.
I'll never forget a sign I saw somewhere once.
"Dentistry is not expensive---ignoring your teeth is expensive".
In this case, fatal. But this is a case of ignorance, stubborness, pigheadedness, and profound neglect which all combined into what would become the tragic circumstances of bringing about a totally needless death.
It takes a village to kill and waste money.
WTF are you talking about? Did read anything I wrote? You may be a hottie but you sure aren't very bright.
That happened to my wife once. I just grabbed a pair of tooth extractors and pulled her tooth out. Didn't hurt a bit.
Everyone should have a pair of those in case of an emergency.
Not with an infection like that in it you sure don't want to do that. Pop that while it's still in that stage and you can send it right into the blood stream.
ping
Her other 3 children--and the checks she gets for them every week--should be taken away. Frankly, I think that's all she cares about anyway. The Great Society has sadly created millions of such craven beasts instead of mothers. Tragic for this nation.
She should have told the Medicaid people that she needed an abortion. They wouldhave driven herand her fve kids to the hospital in a limo.
I guess she couldn't find another job?!
His death certificate listed two conditions associated with brain infections: "meningoencephalitis" and "subdural empyema."
I read it but I assumed you were talking about your kid.
It makes sense that you would call all around for a kid because the kid comes to you for help. It doesn't make sense to call around town for a man.
I got the kid/husband confusion just like you said you did.
When I was 10 years old, I asked my mother when I needed something. I should be quite capable of doing it myself now. See how that just makes more sense?
Man you are not kidding. One rule in this country should be , never get a toothache on a weekend, You are screwed.
But although this poor kid died on a Sunday the fact is his teeth were ignored for a hell of a long time.
It would seem that a good mother would have found some way to get these teeth looked at.
Her's wasn't infected, it was loose. That's what happens when you get a tooth pulled and don't get a bridge. The tooth above(or below) slowly falls down (or up) and out of the gum.
It was just a nerve root causing her pain, but it was gone instantly when I pulled the tooth, which was very easy to do.
I was an army medic so I sort of know what I'm doing most of the time...
There are Dental Teaching Schools that perform surgeries and routine treatment for minimal cost. Did the mother even LOOK for the alternative to a regular dentist?
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