Posted on 02/28/2007 6:59:16 AM PST by montag813
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.
If his mother hadn't been focused on getting a dentist for his brother, who had six rotted teeth.
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Uh no.
A $1.50 TOOTHBRUSH for him and his brother - who had SIX ROTTED teeth - might have saved him.
(hmm.. $3.00 for two toothbrushes or a Rock of Crack?? Decisions, decisions??)
A tooth extraction would be a LOT cheaper than $250,000...might have been more than the $80 mentioned...but still. She coulda paid $15 a month for a year or so even...
And why did his brother have all these rotten teeth? Does she not teach her kids to brush them?
Maybe this "journalist' should look at what Canada's 'free health care" covers before crying out for it.
That boy would have just as surely died in Canada where "free health care" is the golden calf so envied by the brainless left.
Dental care is NOT covered by Canada's "free health care".
This boy died because of his mothers neglect. That and only that is to blame.
How about a payment plan? All dentists do work for free for people who can not afford dental coverage. Or claim to be an illegal alien, go to Bank of America and get a credit card.
I bet Deamonte's mom has a never ending supply of Kools.
But I bet she found $80 for a big screen TV, satellite dish, iPod, Nikes, cell phone, and lots of fast food.
I am sure the kids knew how to brush their teeth.
But at 10pm when my kids are in the bed, she is getting drunk and high with Tyrone while her kids are outside roaming the streets.
If people weren't so stingy...
Pediatricians can't collect a $45 office visit while we can't train plastic surgeons fast enough to meet the demand for new tits.
Wow, that is very generous.
Very caring; I would want to be the patient of that kind of dentist, though I would be there on the paying days. :)
BTW, nice bikes!
Very true. But, that is not what the article is focused on.
It is a guilt trip for society.
I feel bad for his mother. She made many bad choices that left her in this situation, but she is still a human being.
Nevertheless, that is not what the article is focused on.
If that's his brother in that pic, he sure looks well fed. He has the art of sitting mastered quite well. When he dies of a heart attach at age 20, You can bet it will be the governments fault as well, for not keeping his active.
I agree that a 12yo with teeth that bad is a victim of child abuse.
"Because he would have had to wait in line behind the illegals from south of the border who routinely use emergency rooms for non-emergency medical care."
Sad, but true.
Funny you should mention that. Guess which field is overrun with government, and which one isn't. Without the government interfering in their market, cosmetic surgery is the only medical practice that is actually going down in real costs.
This sounds like the mother is deflecting her guilt. The amount of pain from an abscessed tooth is extraordinary. For the mom to ignore that she had to be extremely callous or extremely inattentive to the needs of her child.
My dad is a retired dentist. He retired in January. He accepts medicaid and all other forms of insurance that people use. He practiced in southern Maryland, five miles from the P.G. Co. line. Surely, this woman receives counseling and government assistance and if she really wanted to, she could have found a dentist to help her children. My dad always worked out payment plans with those who could not afford everything up front. And I did get my teeth worked on as a child, while he attended Howard's dental school. I am truly sorry the kid died, but the media is evil for couching this problem as society's fault. She will not be blamed for failing to take care of her kids--that's what I and others on this thread are mad about.
It was actually my husband that this happened to but I get the kid/husband confusion. Hahahaha
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