I have worked with children who are unable to receive dental care. They have medical assistance which covers dental care but due to the reimbursement rate for dental work dentists refuse to see children who are on medical assistance. I live in a rural area and I have had to drive families with children over an hour in order to see a dentist who will perform the work and receive medical assistance. That is with there being two large dentist offices in the town that I live. Some of the families I work with don't have vehicles and if they do they definitely don't have the money to pay for the gas to get there. My agency will transport the families because we feel that dental care is so imp...

I have worked with children who are unable to receive dental care. They have medical assistance which covers dental care but due to the reimbursement rate for dental work dentists refuse to see children who are on medical assistance. I live in a rural area and I have had to drive families with children over an hour in order to see a dentist who will perform the work and receive medical assistance. That is with there being two large dentist offices in the town that I live. Some of the families I work with don't have vehicles and if they do they definitely don't have the money to pay for the gas to get there. My agency will transport the families because we feel that dental care is so important to a child's health but it's still a huge inconvenience for the families. I think it's sad and a travesty and I also can see how something like this happens.

What I am wondering is that I know Dental Schools usually offer free cleanings and free dental work (probably not dentures). This free dental work is usually done byt he students learning(a friend of mine did this as a dental student), but hey, it is free and they are usually right at the dental schools.

So I wonder if that could have been an option to save this kid or others like him.

The other aspect is why was both he and his brother walking around with rotting teeth - was it the food the mother chose to feed them, the candy they were permitted to eat, etc?

I won't stereotype this kid's family or other low income families, but one thing I find awfully frustrating is when I am shoppi...

What I am wondering is that I know Dental Schools usually offer free cleanings and free dental work (probably not dentures). This free dental work is usually done byt he students learning(a friend of mine did this as a dental student), but hey, it is free and they are usually right at the dental schools.

So I wonder if that could have been an option to save this kid or others like him.

The other aspect is why was both he and his brother walking around with rotting teeth - was it the food the mother chose to feed them, the candy they were permitted to eat, etc?

I won't stereotype this kid's family or other low income families, but one thing I find awfully frustrating is when I am shopping at the food store and happen to see people at the checkout paying with food stamps who have their carts loaded up with Junk food, fattning foods, candy, etc. There should be restrictions on what people can buy with the foodstamps and somehow it should be that they must include foods fromt eh food pyramid. Since these same people are often obese.
Likewise I see little old ladies and men, who are trying to not spend their fixed incomes and only buying necessities. Why can't they have the food stamps. Our system is Fracked Up!

I am from the States and currently live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (a "third world country")

One of the first things I noticed here was the health care services. I could hardly believe it when my friends told me that ANYONE could walk into a public hospital and be treated. The homeless kids, the working people, the elderly, EVERYONE. Can you imaging not having to be terrified of going to the DR when you are ill?

In the States if you are a single Mom with 2 kids and 3 jobs you have to think long and hard before bringing your kids (and even longer for yourself) for treatment. How many other kids (and adults) have died that have just not "become news".

And we call THIS a third world cou...

I am from the States and currently live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (a "third world country")

One of the first things I noticed here was the health care services. I could hardly believe it when my friends told me that ANYONE could walk into a public hospital and be treated. The homeless kids, the working people, the elderly, EVERYONE. Can you imaging not having to be terrified of going to the DR when you are ill?

In the States if you are a single Mom with 2 kids and 3 jobs you have to think long and hard before bringing your kids (and even longer for yourself) for treatment. How many other kids (and adults) have died that have just not "become news".

And we call THIS a third world country.

Maybe we should look at our literacy rate (54th in the world), our health care, our schools, violence rate and many other cultural issues. Not just cash!

We are not even in the top 10 of highest life expectancy!

I am NOT saying that I don't love my country, I just am worried about the direction we seem to be heading in.