by Nick Jacobs

A few months ago in an article in the New York Times by Alex Berenson, he discussed the obviousness of the widening gap between those who have and those who do not have in our country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that growing dental problems among U.S. citizens, untreated cavities, have reached a higher level than any time in the last 27 plus years. What does this have to do with health? Well, take one of those tests about how old you really are, and check NO when it asks if you floss regularly. Then do it again, and this time check YES. It’s creates a fairly dramatic difference in the years to live category.

Over 100 million Americans, nearly 30% of our population, do not have dental insurance and two children died of untreated cavities last year. Even though it was only two, it’s a very sad statistic. This represents a reversal of earlier trends in dental health in our country. Berenson additionally explored the trend of dental practices that do not accept Medicaid patients and have imposed significantly higher rates for their services. Of course, just like the primary care physicians who have pursued this same route, they are now enjoying booming financial times. Their professional organizations have also fought the use of dental hygienists and other allied health, non dentists to provide basic care.

This development leaves those uncovered individuals waiting in lengthy lines for access to public dental clinics. Sadly, clinics like this are not always available in many areas. The ones that are forced to use the clincs, however, have as much as a six month waiting time for patients to be treated.

Fifteen years ago I worked to help secure funding to provide health care through medical missions to the people of rural Honduras. Upon initial examination of the most pressings needs, we discovered that the single greatest medical crisis faced by the native Hondurans was the lack of potable water and proper dental care, and our teams of mission oriented medical people pulled hundreds of teeth on each visit. This work literally saved the lives of scores of people.

As the article stated, the right to have straight, white teeth in the United States among the middle class and above appears to be a God given expectation, but, once again, as we fall behind in care of our citizens in the industrialized world, we see the plight of those individuals who do not have their own advocates or financial safety nets falling deeper into a world of financial, physical and mental despair as they face more and more life threatening.