Tragedy renews call for affordable dental care

The death of 12-year-old Deamonte Driver this past February of a tooth infection that spread to his brain, is drawing renewed attention to the barriers to oral health care facing this nation’s poor population.

Racial and socio-economic disparities exist "in both the prevalence of oral health problems and ... access to oral health care," said David Satcher, who as U.S. Surgeon General oversaw the 2000 release of that office’s first national report on oral health. Both race and socio-economics played into Driver’s plight: He was black, his family was homeless and his mother reported trouble finding a dentist who would accept the family’s Medicaid coverage.

Since Driver's untimely demise, and the extensive media coverage it has received, Dentist offices all over the states have been inundated with calls from concerned parents that do not want what happened to Deamonte to happen to their children.

While dental care options for the poor are somewhat limited, people need to know that options do exist. Free or low cost clinics are available that will provide basic oral hygiene to financially challenged families, and for more extensive dental work, you can save alot of money by contacting a local college or university dental school - where last year students provide dental procedures to the public, under the close supervision of their teachers, who are certified, licensed dental health professionals.

Tooth decay, if left untreated, can cause some very serious complications including Diabetes, blood infections, and even death.

At a recent two-day dental clinic at the Medical Education Campus of Northern Virginia Community College in Springfield, more than 600 people received free dental care, including cleanings, fillings, extractions and X-rays.

An estimated one in four Americans between ages 65 and 74 has severe periodontal disease, and poor Americans — especially children and elderly — tend to have the worst oral health, according to remarks by Satcher — now director of the National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta — that accompanied the release of the 2000 report.

Recent studies have shown that oral health is very closely tied to overall health. Children studied whose health was excellent or very good, tended to have very good oral health as well, while children whose overall health was rated good, fair, or poor - only 38% had teeth in good condition.

If you or your children have cavities, frequent toothaches, or other dental problems, please do not put off treatment due to financial problems. Find what options are available in your neighborhood and seek treatment.

Tragedies like what happened to Deamonte Driver can be prevented, but it takes a proactive effort on everybody's part - both the public, and dental health professionals.

The market is flooded with all kinds of supplements and loads of brands that are marketing them. There is the ever popular glucosamine, there are omega 3 and 6 fatty acids supplements and not forgetting the berry family the cranberries.