Gabe Anast Needs to Read this!

[SamuraiKatz]

So Gabe Anast can cure a tooth ache with cloves and cinnamon? Yeah right. Talk about playing russian roulette with your health. I guess that is okay if you are an adult, but kids suffer(and some times die) for their parent's mistakes..

An uninsured 24 year old man died from an infected tooth....

A 24-year-old Cincinnati father died from a tooth infection this week because he couldn't afford his medication, offering a sobering reminder of the importance of oral health and the number of people without access to dental or health care.

According to NBC affiliate WLWT, Kyle Willis' wisdom tooth started hurting two weeks ago. When dentists told him it needed to be pulled, he decided to forgo the procedure, because he was unemployed and had no health insurance.

The rest of the story: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/insurance- ... d=14438171

[debrand]

24 is so young to die. :cry:

[NurseNell]

Very sad. This should not happen in this country.

Nell

[Angri-la]

Very sad. This should not happen in this country.

Nell

A dear friend of mine lives paycheck to paycheck. Recently, he had an absessed. Tooth, his jaw jutted out like a golf ball. It came on suddenly. He has insurance, went to a dentist, and was told that he had to have the tooth pulled immediately, or he would die. The problem? He couldn't afford the co-pay, and the dentist refused to pull it without payment in full. My friend asked for a referral to a dentist who would take payments, etc. The dentist made a couple of calls, but the dental college had no ER appointments. Basically, he would have been left to die if his boss hadn't stepped in and paid it.

Dental care is expensive, and I find it shocking that it is considered seperate for insurance purposes, usually at a higher rate and much less coverage, in my experience. I pay loads for supplemental, as what I get at my job barely covers cleanings. I do not understand why health insurance doesn't cover teeth, and why dentists aren't required to save a life. That isn't cosmetic.

/rant

[hoipolloi]

A dear friend of mine lives paycheck to paycheck. Recently, he had an absessed. Tooth, his jaw jutted out like a golf ball. It came on suddenly. He has insurance, went to a dentist, and was told that he had to have the tooth pulled immediately, or he would die. The problem? He couldn't afford the co-pay, and the dentist refused to pull it without payment in full. My friend asked for a referral to a dentist who would take payments, etc. The dentist made a couple of calls, but the dental college had no ER appointments. Basically, he would have been left to die if his boss hadn't stepped in and paid it.

Dental care is expensive, and I find it shocking that it is considered seperate for insurance purposes, usually at a higher rate and much less coverage, in my experience. I pay loads for supplemental, as what I get at my job barely covers cleanings. I do not understand why health insurance doesn't cover teeth, and why dentists aren't required to save a life. That isn't cosmetic.

/rant

Absolutely correct. Dental care should have mandatory coverage in the same way that other health care does.

[bicyclecat]

Absolutely correct. Dental care should have mandatory coverage in the same way that other health care does.

Would a regular ER be an option for something like this, even? It's mindboggling that someone could die of an infection, because a dentist got a stick up his ass over a copay.

[NurseNell]

He couldn't afford the co-pay, and the dentist refused to pull it without payment in full. My friend asked for a referral to a dentist who would take payments, etc. The dentist made a couple of calls, but the dental college had no ER appointments. Basically, he would have been left to die if his boss hadn't stepped in and paid it.

He needs to write a letter and outline exactly what happened. He should send it to his state's attorney general, the dental licensing board, the county dental association, and the state dental association. It wouldn't hurt to write a letter to the paper also.

Nell

[NurseNell]

Would a regular ER be an option for something like this, even? It's mindboggling that someone could die of an infection, because a dentist got a stick up his ass over a copay.

The ER really would not be a good option. He'd wait forever to be seen since triaging would place him in the non-emergency tier, and they'd have to refer him to a dentist. ER co-pays are high, and if you aren't admitted you have to pay a co-pay with most insurances. They'd have given him antibiotics and pain pills but that's just a temporary fix.

Many larger cities have free clinics but if you don't know how to find and access them that can be a problem.

Nell

[bicyclecat]

The ER really would not be a good option. He'd wait forever to be seen since triaging would place him in the non-emergency tier, and they'd have to refer him to a dentist. ER co-pays are high, and if you aren't admitted you have to pay a co-pay with most insurances. They'd have given him antibiotics and pain pills but that's just a temporary fix.

Many larger cities have free clinics but if you don't know how to find and access them that can be a problem.

Nell

That is truly insane. I'm fortunate that DH knows a retired dentist who'd help us in an emergency, but I can't imagine what someone would do with an infection and no dental insurance. The ER can't do anything, dentists want payment upfront. And socialized healthcare is a bad thing? I think it'd rather have that than people dying.

[hoipolloi]

The real solution is that comprehensive health care coverage must also include dental care, particularly for emergency or urgent procedures like extractions & root canals.

And of course, the ultimate solution is single-payer insurance for all of this to spread the costs and bring them down for everyone while increasing access to needed care.

[NurseNell]

The real solution is that comprehensive health care coverage must also include dental care, particularly for emergency or urgent procedures like extractions & root canals.

And of course, the ultimate solution is single-payer insurance for all of this to spread the costs and bring them down for everyone while increasing access to needed care.

Agree.

Nell

[fundifugee]

Alittle OT, but I was just reading on 7xSunday after this post started up. Holy shit (literally?)!

To a woman whose husband is watching porn, making home porn without her consent, and peeping in random people's windows with binoculars - "keep him drained".

(To be fair, Gabe says she could leave him, but, wow, try to fuck him out of that habit! Really?)

[gustava]

Alittle OT, but I was just reading on 7xSunday after this post started up. Holy shit (literally?)!

To a woman whose husband is watching porn, making home porn without her consent, and peeping in random people's windows with binoculars - "keep him drained".

(To be fair, Gabe says she could leave him, but, wow, try to fuck him out of that habit! Really?)

Orally?

[debrand]

I've had a couple of root canals and both times I was put on antibiotics before they would pull my tooth. I was also given pain killers.

It cost me a LOT of money to have the procedures done. We had to take out a loan both times.

[anniebgood]

My husband had an abscess on a Sunday night. :cry: He ended up in the ER. Gave him a shot of morphine and some clindamyacin, which is specifically for oral infections. It's a nasty antibiotic. He went to the dentist and we are stuck with another $2000 worth of dental care. I haven't been because I am pathologically afraid. I have a panic attack walking in a office.

I had an abscess and I got the same meds and I didn't complain nearly as much as he did. :idea:

[fundifugee]

Orally?

It didn't specify....however, now that you mention it, and back on topic, that advice would also apply to an abscess...

[fundiefan]

Too many idiots confuse pain relief with cure/problem resolution.

Dogs are not humans, of course, but I had a rescue dog who was all of an estimated 2-4 years old I we got him. I had him less than a year before having to have him put down. And the reason for that was because he had never had his mouth / teeth treated and he was a walking infection. I had all his teeth pulled and he spent days at the vet on intravenous antibiotics. He came home and spent the rest of his life on them, trying to fight off the infections that were raging in his body. In the end, he went into heart failure because he was just too far gone from untreated infection, all of which originated in his mouth. Some explanation is that when his adult teeth came in his puppy teeth didn't fall out. No one cared enough about him in his early life to have those teeth removed; his mouth wasn't big enough for all those teeth and any pressure from chewing caused abscesses which led to infection. It was one of the saddest, most emotionally painful things I've ever witnessed in my life.

I had some pretty intensive dental work done about ten years ago. I was on antibiotics for about six weeks afterwards because the risk of infection is so high in the mouth and can come from the 'smallest' thing. For a couple of years after that, whenever I had a cleaning I also dosed up with antibiotics because one puncture of the sharp tools could make things go really bad really fast.

I'm really just dumbfounded at people who don't take dental health seriously. It's not just about white teeth and preventing cavities. In a way, your mouth is your life source. White teeth and cavities are the least of your worries in the grand scheme of things yet the biggest focus. Historically, people were really lucky if/when they lost all their teeth/had them pulled. When done right, or at the right time, they added years to their lives. Oral health played a very large role in how long people lived, or didn't, 'in the old days'.

[Angri-la]

My friend filed something with the American Dental Assoc., I believe. He isn't a shrinking violet.

I realize dentistry used to be done by barbers, but it has grown quite a bit. I would like to get my basic oral care needs met, not have blinding television teeth!

[DistantStar]

My neighbor nearly died from an abscess a few months ago. She's still not herself, but at least she's here. I don't know how long she'd had it, but I suspect it wasn't long; I don't see her putting up with abscess pain for long at all. Owwwwwwwwwww.

I don't think I'd have gone near a dentist in the "old days." No anesthetic...

[clibbyjo]

I have reg. insurance through Federal Gov. which we pay for,their dental is a JOKE. You get 2 free cleanings a year, everything else you pay for. I had a root canal which was $600. I was lucky to find a dentist who took me right away and gave me payments. My kids ortho. is over $4000 each for braces, we pay an installment every month and just get the next kid started as soon as the last one finishes. The dental school is no better, I had an ortho. consult there for my daughter and it was only $400 less for braces. Way more headaches for going to the dental school on college property,city garage paid parking, and making appointments only when the ortho students could do it so time frame is longer. I felt the $400 more was worth it to go 10 minutes from my house and go when I wanted.

[Prek teach]

Dental insurance doesn't cover much in some cases. My husband had a root canal a couple of years ago which could not be performed until one of his wisdom teeth was pulled. Even after insurance our co-pay was 700 dollars. Now we carry 2 dental insurance policies, one through Kaiser and one through Met Life. The secondary picks up what the primary doesn't pay. This has worked out well the past two years especially since I require periodontal cleanings every 3 months. My copay is $10 each visit, and my husband's last filling cost $10. I am fortunate to have a dentist that will accept payment plans when necessary. I wouldn't have to undergo the periodontal cleanings had I not put off dental care for 20 years b/c I don't like the dentist. My teeth are great but my gums are a mess, but getting much better due to regular cleaning.