Dental Care

Wellll here is my first post, I had to write a discussion board on "Vulnerable Populations, and Health Disparities."  Here is the article I wrote about.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/27/AR2007022702116.html


This topic and discussion might be touchy to some, and many people may not agree with my approach to this discussion, buttt I didn't say you had to like me, or my opinions! ;)




I am going to approach this topic in a different way then most people would. I am thinking about the preventative actions that may be able to stop this dental problem from getting to the point of hospitalization and in the worst case scenario death. What made this boys teeth get so rotten? Why wasn't his mother and grandparents making sure that this little boy brushed his teeth at least twice a day with an adequate tooth paste? Did the parents and grandparents watch his oral intake? Was he eating a lot of sugary food, that will cause decay? Dental care begins in the home, and needs to be enforced at the home, in order to prevent this type of situation from occurring. If the family is eligible for Medicare, then they are more then likely eligble for food stamps or some sort of equivalent, and with that they could get a toothbrush and tooth paste, and less sugary foods. Getting into a dentist and oral surgeon can be difficult even with private insurance, or self pay. There are millions of people that need dental care and not enough providers, so this will always be an issue, no matter what the payment method is. Also, the child must have been in quite a large amount of pain for this problem to get so bad that it went into his brain, brain infections do not just cause a mild headache. A perfect example of this whole situation is, McDonald's does not make a person fat, and unhealthy, the person makes themselves fat and unhealthy. Ronald McDonald is not holding you to gun point, telling you, you need to eat their food. And thats the same way with oral hygiene. The hygienists and dentists are not going to come to your house every day and make sure you are eating healthy, and brushing your teeth, they are not going to come to your house and get you for a bi annual dental cleanings. You have to put the initiative in yourself, the initiative in for your kids, and teach them how to properly care for themselves. Now I am not saying that this story was not heart breaking and tragic, I am just saying that putting all the blame on the state of Maryland and the Medicare offices, if very unreasonable. And the family needs to take some responsibility for the errors that they developed.