For lack of a dentist, a life was lost

[pegkerr]

This story makes me angry.

Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday [February 25].

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.

We absolutely have to fix health care in this country. It should be a universal right. I have read that if this isn't addressed, then in ten years, one out of every five dollars spent in this country will be spent on health care. And of course, there will be more uninsured every year.

Here is a follow up article, about how Deamonte's death has spurred legislators to try to address dental care for the poor.

Too late for Deamonte, of course.

Madness.