WP: Md. boy dies from toothache

[rebel with a cause]

For Want Of A Dentist
Maryland boy, 12, dies after bacteria from tooth spread to his brain
By Mary Otto
The Washington Post
Updated: 7:00 a.m. CT Feb 28, 2007
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.


<snip>


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.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17372104/



Must read for those interested in the state of health care in this country. I'm thinking about printing it out and sending it to my doctor. Not because she is guilty of this, but because it would go along with what she believes and argues.

[jus_the_facts]

1. 80 bucks? I had to pay 290 for a *routine* extraction....

....the *routine* root canal was extremely overpriced though at over 1500...without insurance. :evilfrown:

[rebel with a cause]

2. this $80 was probably a special deal at a clinic.

When I had no health coverage and no income, I found a clinic that would treat me for a reduced amount and then let the balance ride until I did get a way to pay it. I don't know how long they would have let it go, but the doctor kept telling me not to worry about it. They also have a dental clinic that I need to start going to, and they are the only dentist I know of around here that takes medicaid. I have to wait until we can get a dependable car to get to all those appointments that will probably be needed. Ugh.

[rodeodance]

3. see this discussion:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3138049&mesg_id=3138049

[phantom power]

4. Europeans must look at us and shake their heads.

[Eurobabe]

9. Yes and no

Ironically in Germany, the emphasis is NOT on prophylactic treatment -- IOW, routine dental cleanings, exams, etc. are NOT part of our covered healthcare program, which is REEALLLLY stupid.

However, any dentist will yank an infected tooth for you and treat an abscess. That part is covered for everybody.

I tell you, the US is going to hell in a handbasket.

[rodeodance]

5. Dental care is seldom part of Reg. health insurance either-maybe

preventive care is but seldoms covers the big jobs like caps etc etc.






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.

Some poor children have no dental coverage at all. Others travel three hours to find a dentist willing to take Medicaid patients and accept the incumbent paperwork. And some, including Deamonte's brother, get in for a tooth cleaning but have trouble securing an oral surgeon to fix deeper problems.

In spite of efforts to change the system, fewer than one in three children in Maryland's Medicaid program received any dental service at all in 2005, the latest year for which figures are available from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

[noonwitch]

6. Only union jobs provide dental, for the most part

I copay a small amount on my Delta, but I am grateful to have it.

One of the weird things that annoys me, after my dentist explained it to me, is that to get a filling made out of the new, white stuff costs me more because it's considered "cosmetic", yet the materials cost less for the dentist to buy than the metal fillings do. So I get the white stuff in any teeth in front, and the metal in back.

[Virginia Dare]

7. Very tragic...

the epitomy of a societal failure on so many levels, and afterall it didn't happen in some third world country, it happened within ten miles of Washington, DC. Something is very, very wrong.

[goclark]

8. 30 years ago I was vacationing in Africa

I got a tooth ache.

They took me to the 1 Dentist in the town and he worked on my tooth for an hour, gave me medicine and told me to call him, it was a Saturday, if I had anymore problems.

I was in pain just thinking about how much I would have to pay him from my Traveler's Checks.

When I asked, he was insulted and said to me, " Young lady, we have Socialized Medicine here, you owe me NOTHING."

[rebel with a cause]

10. But...but ...

Africa is such a backwards country and we're so advanced over them. :sarcasm:

[Eurobabe]

11. The end result of Medicare's refusal to treat this child is

#1, he is now DEAD.
#2 the hospitalization and treatment was over $250K

How phucking stupid is Medicare?? :wtf:

That this is happening in the US is appalling, and everyday it gets worse.

Can we say Single Payer System any LOUDER???

[rebel with a cause]

12. The thing is that this happens every day.

I was refused help for so long that the neglect of preventive care cost me my health and ended up costing Medicaid much more than the tests would have to find the problem in the first place. I now get SSI Disability, which I should have been getting for years and due to that, I automatically get medicaid. My doctor always is surprised how much better I look now than I did before I had my two heart failures. I tell her that it is all due to me now being able to afford the right food, better housing, to pay my bills, and I can get the medicine and care that I need.

But I was one of the lucky ones, I survived my ordeal. I can't stand more than 30 minutes (sometimes less than 15 min.) without suffering extreme pain, but I now have the luxury of not having to do that most of the time. I can stay in my house, my safe place, and not have to go out except when I feel able to do so. I get to lie in bed or set all day with my feet propped up so the fluid doesn't build up and my heart is not overworked. What work I do, I do fifteen minutes at a time. I am one of the lucky ones. I may be able to live a little longer because of the help I am getting now.

But what would my life be like if I could have gotten full treatment five years ago when my health started to quickly go down hill. If I had been able to go to doctors, specialist, and hospitals for the tests that I needed to uncover the underlying problem. If I could have afforded the medicine that would have prevented the problem instead of having to take handfuls of medicine to control it now. I don't fret about it anymore, I am thankful for what I have, but I worry about all those people out there that are where I was two years ago and loosing ground.

[Eurobabe]

14. Sorry to hear RWAC, I am sure there are

a million stories out there similar to yours. I've always been lucky enough to have healthcare through an employer or my husband's policy. I feel bad for bitching about our old HMO after hearing your plight, (and now this boy's.)

:hug:

[rebel with a cause]

16. Thanks, but I am doing okay.

and you are right to think there are a lot of people that have things similar and even much worse than I do. I was actually lucky to get my SSI quicker than most people do. I don't know if it was because I was in such bad shape at the time, because of the papers my doctor filled out, because I had a great case worker who cared, or because I kept dropping Obama's name. ;-)

Then again I may have got it just so I would quit desperately sending them more papers. I was calling doctors that had treated me 9 years before (when I worked and had coverage) and having my records sent to the SS people to show that problems had existed for years. The SS people actually sent me a letter saying that it was not necessary to send anything else, they had enough and my claim was being approved. Maybe it pays to be aggressive sometimes.:shrug:

[rebel with a cause]

15. By the way,

this may be off subject, but I did not find the clinic that would treat me without being paid until I volunteered for Obama. He took special interest in people like myself, and it was actually one of his staff in my area that told me where to get help. If I had not forced myself to suffer the discomfort and pain to volunteer,:nopity: I would never have known where to go. So good things do come from being a liberal democrat. :7

[shadowknows69]

19. I'm in exactly the same boat

and I really don't expect to see my 50th birthday (and that's a generous estimate just because i'm superstitious and to name a negativeis to give it power) I'm pretty much unable to work and it sound like i have very similar legs problems to what you do. Any advice on the steps to getting SSI?

[rebel with a cause]

22. Well, I am 61 so that also helped with the SSI.

If you are over 60 they know that no one is going to hire you espcecially when you are in failing health. Go figure.

I am not sure what all your health problems are, but I will give you what advice I can. Instead of listing all the things I have wrong with me on this thread and asking you to do the same, if you would like to send me a message in my inbox, I will help you all I can. I don't have those priviliges, so I can't contact you first.

Other than that, I would say to get all your information/records together and be organized. Get a doctor that knows your case and knows that you are deserving of the help. Get legal advise and back up in case you need it(free services are usually available). After you file, don't be afraid to contact both your case worker (if you have one), your legal people, and your assigned person at SS. Be aggressive in your efforts but not rude or pushy. Ask for help if you need it, but don't depend entirely on other people. You get more done when you are personally involved and know what is going on. In other words, you need to be the sun and everyone else needs to be the planets rotating around you. Vise versus does not work as well, it is too hard rotating around a bunch of suns. :shrug:

I hope that makes sense and helps a little. Otherwise, I would need information so I could tell you what I think you can do, if I even know.

[porphyrian]

13. Can we have universal health care now? - n/t

[usregimechange]

17. 80$ and we have him back with the 250,000.

[WorldResident]

18. Bush cheers! Another worthless black kid's dead!

:sarcasm: :mad:

[shadowknows69]

20. There's no reason I should even be alive

because I've gone through the infections you get from bad teeth at least 100 times now. My body is broken because of it too. Somehow I've always been blessed with a strong immune system, despite years of abusing it, my luck is running out soon though. This boy's death is an incredible tragedy and I'm kind of feeling surviors guilt here. This doesn't have to happen in the "richest nation on earth" The poor are meant to die young.

[oldlady]

21. my daughter just went to Mexico for dental care

cost....$150 for two crowns. Quoted cost here, $2000. Workmanship? Great! Seriously, in Mexico City there's a dentist on nearly every block.

[rebel with a cause]

23. As far as health care is concerned,

we are a third world country. Not because good health care is not available to anyone, but because it is just not available to everyone.

[phusion]

27. people here cross the border all the time...

Juarez is loaded with good dentists (even at those rates it's excellent money at the border for a Mexican dentist).

[seabeyond]

30. this is what i am finding. cant find adaquit dental insurance even willing to pay

and the dental world is so DAMN expensive... i think there is screwing coming from both directions

[truedelphi]

24. People aren't aware of how serious a tooth infection is.

It is deplorable that this family lost a child due to lack of insurance.

However I do wish the media would do a dental alert month each year to spell out the problems

When my husband was doing social work for low income families, his agency lost a young woman (housewife, student and mother) to her dental infection. She had full coverage under MediCal and would have been able to get help had she sought it.

She did what most over-worked people in our society would do - she loaded herself up on Tylenol to get through her day and went to bed early. While she slept the absess raged through her body hitting her brain or her heart and the next morning her husband was not able to wake her.

Since then I take any sign of tooth infection seriously. (I know my approach to a "mere absess" would have been the same as hers) This was a tragic loss for her, her family and her community.

[rebel with a cause]

28. Research now shows that even gingivitis

can cause/worsen heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and so on. At least that is what they are telling me. My doctor is telling me that I need to get to a dentist as soon as possible because of my health problem, but I keep putting it off because the clinic is some miles from here and I don't want to take a chance on going by myself in an unreliable car. I have always been independent, but now I very seldom ever drive because of my legs, and I don't know what I would do if I broke down. I use to work on my own car when I was younger, now it physically hurts me to check the oil. But I do need to get to the dentist and I know if I have problems because of this, it is my fault.

[truedelphi]

32. There could be forces or agencies that would help you

Let me think - Okay, if there is a St Vincent De Paul Society in your agency - call and ask if they have volunteers who might drive you to a needed medical appointment. (You might also see if they would loan you money to help you repair your car - or maybe even help you get a newer one!)

The Lutheran Church often has a wonderful support network for the needy in any given area of the Country.

Kiwanis, or The Lions sometimes have volunteer groups that give a helping hand.

There should not be any blame about poverty. Groups like those mentioned above seem to intuitively understand that.

[rebel with a cause]

33. Thanks. There are agencies here that would help me.

and I know who they are, I just don't want to use them. My sister who lives about forty miles from here also offered to take me to the doctor anytime I want to go. The problem is that I don't want to give up my last little bit of independence, and to be truthful, I hate going to the dentist. I am stubbornly independent, always have been, and at my age I doubt I am going to change. That is why I said this is my fault. :blush:

[truedelphi]

34. WOW! I'll be mailing you the Official Dentist's Procrastinators

Society Membership kit and Emblem complete with decoder ring...

Actually I am good about dentists - it's the other medical people I put off and then put off
even though a friend of mine told me on her death bed (yes, from stage 4 uterine cancer) that I am being foolish.

[rebel with a cause]

35. Thank you, I will be looking forward to receiving

my membership kit. :7

I never really liked going to any doctor. Now I have no choice, I am on a schedule for my visits. At least now I am down to every three months, except when I have a problem. Blood tests every month, except when I chose not to get one which I did this month. BAD OLD WOMAN!

If you have a family history of any health problem, then you should especially get checkups for that. The funny thing is that we didn't realize we had a family history of heart problems until I got my problems. Then we realized that my mother had the same type of difficulty as I do, but the doctors back then didn't understand what was going on with her. We never understood her death, but now we have one more option to put with it.

[roguevalley]

25. My sister-in-law's brother died because he couldn't afford his

asthma medicine. Had we known, we would have sold everything we owned to save Dennis. There is a special circle in hell for people responsible for these kinds of things.

[rebel with a cause]

29. there are some places where you can get your medicine free.

I don't know where they are, and I didn't get any of mine that way except for the samples my doctor gave me, but I know there was a thread yesterday about it. Montel (?) advertises for the corporation that does it, I believe. It is a shame that no one bothered to tell your sister-in-law;s brother about this. There are also drug companies that will sometimes supply your medicine at a lower rate through doctors/clinics. Of course this is only certain medicine and for certain people. I got one prescription that way once, but the $200 a bottle meds was not offered through them and so was just not purchased. Life sucks! Unless of course, you are one of those in the top percent of the economy.

[judaspriestess]

26. that is so sad

and to top it off six weeks of hospital care and two operations, her mother is going to get slammed with astronomical medical bills that will go on her credit immediately keeping her from possibly ever finding a decent job because companies now judge on credit.

on edit: growing up poor, I know the issues of finding dental care and when we finally did, it was too late and I had several teeth pulled as a young child, it was devastating. I'm over it now but it affected my self esteem growing up having to wear a partial denture. Thank god I don't have to wear one anymore but I was one of the lucky ones.

[2nd_Amendment_Rules]

31. That is terrible