Could I Have Died Too?
Posted by mapgirl under Medical, Poverty, Responsibility, Uncategorized
[9] Comments
Boy dies of a tooth infection.
A good chunk of my medical posts last year were about fixing my teeth. I’ve had really poor dental health over my lifetime. I’m ashamed to admit this. But I am proud I overcame my fears and made fixing my teeth a priority. I’ve still got a long way to go, but at least I’ve stemmed the tide and it’s changing direction.
What makes me really sad about this story is that his death was entirely preventable. I had perfectly reasonable dental healthcare till I left for college. I didn’t see a dentist for 4 years. And then I worked a string of jobs where I couldn’t afford a dentist or didn’t have dental coverage. Eventually, you get scared of going because you know it’s not going to be a happy visit.
What drove me finally to take care of it? After three years of having dental insurance, but living in terror, I finally went because I was eating Tylenol like candy from a toothache. Pounding, horrible, headaches. I had an infection of the gums that was reaching into my nasal cavity. (Purposeful choice of word there.)
It’s criminal that this boy wasn’t able to get dental healthcare with other Medicaid coverage. What is wrong with us as a nation that someone dies of a tooth abscess?
As an adult I made my own choice out of fear and strained finances to skip the dentist. I fully accept the consequences, and nothing you can say will hurt more than those headaches or the hours in the dental chair. But in simple terms, $80 tooth extraction vs $250K hospital stay, resulting in death. You tell me what the price of a life is.
[Feeling a little angry about the world right now. Injustice everywhere, but on a personal and private level. (No, not directed at me.) Anyone one know a good lawyer in VA who specializes in employment law? Please email me directly. Thanks!]


