Posted on 08/12/2011 10:57:17 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
Woodstock First Baptist Church teamed with Georgia Mission of Mercy to begin a two-day FREE, dental clinic for low- or no-income adults who cannot pay for dental care.
Thousands of people waited in line overnight at Woodstock First Baptist Church for free dental care.
The two-day clinic at First Baptist Church of Woodstock on Hwy. 92 is being sponsored by the Georgia Dental Association and its Foundation for Oral Health.
"The line went around the building, all the way through the parking lot and around a warehouse," said Dr. Richard Smith, who practices in Atlanta. He estimated the line at 2,000 yards and said that at its peak, 4,000 people were in line.
UGA student Jasen Scrivens, 24, of Winder arrived at 1 a.m. hoping to have some unfinished dental work completed.
"About three months ago I had some work done and it cost me a good bit of money and I never got it finished -- I couldn't afford the rest of it -- so I came to see if I could get the rest of it done," he said. He estimated he had spent $3,800 on the work so far.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
By the time we got to Woodstock, we were half a million strong.
At first I thought this was another government giveaway —but it turns out the Church there organized it with volunteer dentists and assistants. This is as it should be —the local community and charitable organizations taking care of the poor in their community —not the government with its handouts.
I was a dental assistant 40 years ago —while my skills are rusty, I would have volunteered for this effort if it were in my area —like I said, this is as it should be —
Pat
First, let me say, good for that church; this is a demonstration of the kind of society we need - one in which private citizens do unto others out of a sense of community. Based on the response, it’s also a sad commentary on the economic conditions that people find themselves in.
“It is suggested that you stay away from that. Of course it’s your own trip.”
It is sad. It is also sad dental work is so expensive. When I was growing up we went to the dentist regularly without having dental insurance and my mom was a single mom (my dad died when I was 5). These days you have to take out a loan for basic dental care. Even with dental insurance, so much isn’t covered that it is out of reach of a lot of families. And orthodontic work is really outrageous.
True.
I was one of the few that made to woodstock.
Most stopped a Bethel.
My take is a bit different. Dental care HAS become very expensive with the advent of dental insurance.
When dental insurance became a standard employment perk, all the dentists raised their rates and signed up. The net rate they got from the insurers was roughly unchanged, but if you weren’t in an insurance club (which you could join as an individual even if you weren’t insured through work), you found that routine dental care (cleanings, fillings) was up something like 75%.
Dental insurance isn’t completely analogous to regular medical insurance, for several reasons, but it suffers from some of the same ills, most notably a raise in the basic price and the forcing of the uninsured to join some buying plan. Here’s the reasons:
* Dental care upside cost in the event of illness isn’t is much less than for medical issues; also it’s not life threatening.
* Dental plans are capped at a very low level... little more than an extra filling or two
* There is less cost-shifting and socialization of routine care between segments of the population
* The ratio of routine maintenance care to real insurance is different between the dental and medical realms.
You could determine all of that from a photo?
Gum Disease And Periodontal Problems Can Be Fatal
Would you have ever believed that gum disease and periodontal problems could actually lead to death if left untreated? When gum disease prevention is unsuccessful or non-existent, conditions like trench mouth may develop. Trench mouth is a severe form of gingivitis which got its name during World War I when soldiers fighting in the trenches commonly developed the condition because they could not practice good oral hygiene. Symptoms of trench mouth include:
Severely infected gingival tissue
Bleeding
Ulcerations or sores on surface of gingival tissue
Depleted immune system and increased susceptibility to other diseases
However, the failure of gum disease prevention can lead to bigger problems and increased risks of serious medical problems, such as Coronary Artery Disease. In and of itself, Coronary Artery Disease is caused by a thickening of the arteries. This process is caused by fatty proteins clotting together and obstructing blood flow. While there is no smoking gun where periodontal gum disease and increased risk for Coronary Artery Disease is concerned; However, current research concludes that failing to properly treat gum disease will effectively double your odds of having Coronary Artery Disease.
http://www.themouthdoctor.com/gumdisease/16-gumdiseaseperiodontal.htm/
I’ll bet a damn hundred dollars Spanish was the only language spoken in line.....when will these ‘gooders’ learn?
Before your nose bleeds from having it so high in the air, consider the fact that dentists are small business owners and are subject to current costs. Dental insurance reimbursement has not changed from the 1000-1500 per year since the early 80’s. Don’t ask me how I know. So why don’t you bitch to your employer or HR person about the coverage they supply???
maybe, instead of paying $100+ per month for cell phone service, some of them could actually pay for their own dental work?
I'm going on down to Yasgur's farm
I'm going to join in a rock 'n' roll band
I'm going to camp out on the land
I'm going to try an' get my dental work free...
...ah, the good old days...
Well, like a lot of the people who waited in line, I am unemployed and even when I was employed, my employer didn’t offer dental insurance. And I actually like going to he dentist but I just can’t afford it now. My nose is hardly up in the air. I have two loose teeth right now and recently lost another and there is nothing I can do about it. Not asking for pity - just stating facts.
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