LOVELAND, Colo., July 23, 2008
Lining Up For Free Dental Care
With A Third Of Americans Lacking Dental Insurance, Free Clinics Become Only Hope For Many
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Dental Care Without Insurance
Over 100 million Americans do not have dental insurance. Thousands seek help at free dental care clinics that are often overwhelmed with the high demand for their services. Seth Doane reports.
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Cindy Rogers lined up with her family for the free dental clinic, and told Seth Doane that her monthly rent is roughly the cost of several fillings -- and she could only afford one. (CBS)
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Even before dawn, some people have been waiting for hours.
When Doane visited the line outside a free dental clinic, he asked "what time did you guys get here?"
"One o'clock," a group said.
Others have waited for years just to see a dentist. It's a luxury the uninsured can't afford.
"Oh gosh, no way," one said. The other: "Way too expensive."
But in Loveland, Colo., for two days only, dental care is free.
Bruce Bergstrom, head of
At 5 a.m. the line wraps around a block.
"Isn't that tragic?" Bergstrom said. "It really is. To me it's tragic."
With an exhibit hall transformed into a massive dental clinic, they do what they can: cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals - all for free.
Eight hundred volunteers, including 113 dentists, have donated time and skill - and pay their own way.
"This is costing you a lot," Doane said to volunteer pedicatric dentist John Fales.
"Yeah, it is, but it's just a way to give back," he said.
Fales closed his Kansas City office for a few days and flew five members of his staff to the clinic.
One of his first patients is 8-year-old Jericho Rogers, who was up at 2 a.m. to get there.
"He says he hasn't seen a dentist in three or four years - are you surprised by looking at his mouth?" Doane said.
"No, not at all," Fales said. "There's a lot of children running around in the United States that have cavities just like this - and mostly just for lack of good dental insurance coverage."
Jericho's parents need help, too. His mom's job at a sandwich shop doesn't provide dental.
If she had to have six cavities filled by a dentist and pay for it, what would she have to pay?
"Probably over $1,000," said dentist Stephanie Kaufmann.
"A thousand dollars? That's my rent payment a month - so, it's either rent or get my teeth fixed … well, I'm going to go for a roof over my head!" Cindy Rogers said.
Her husband, Richard, has a mouth full of problems, too. A job in a lumber store that doesn't cover it and a price tag he can't afford.Read more about Seth's story at Couric & Co. Blog
"Oh, no way," he said. "I'd have to sell my car to pay for that."
About 1,500 patients were treated that day - and given more than $1.2 million worth of care
"I can't afford this expense," said Mandy Lujan, who brought her toddler in. "So it's a blessing to be able to bring her here and have the work done that we need to have done."
A trip to the dentist is nothing anyone looks forward to, but for those who can't afford to go at all, a little pain doesn't hurt at all.
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Fluoridation is a huge failure but dentists keep pushing it because they know it''s keeping governement off their backs. It''s time that instead of dentists mandating fluoride in our water, legislators must mandate dentists actually treat more Mediciad and un-insured Americans all year long. If they won''t, it''s time to train Dental Therapists to do the job. DTs have worked for decades in developed countries doing the same work as dentists - only cheaper and in areas where dentists refuse to go. It only takes two of three years training. Let''s get on with it.
Watching this on the news tonight reminds me that here in Canada,the national health insurance plan called Medicare does not cover dental treatments.
if you cannot afford to buy private health insurance here or receive this insurance through your job which is how I get my dental coverage,then you are screwed
and have to pay it our of your own pocket.
Gosh, sounds positively American.
Kudos to the dentists, assistants and voluteers of this program. Dental health is just as important as medical health.
Lets face it... if your *** life is ruined because some doctor looked at you cross-eyed it seriously isn''t worth 10M dollars! Oh, wait.... 8M of that 10M went to the ambulance chaser that talked you into that law suit in the first place!
With her solutions to healthcare, and stopping the defection of supporters most likely will fill in the void for McCain (a candidate that was more or less a corpse at this very time, last year) and bringing his campaign to a natural tipping point.
Conventional wisdom would have Barack searching out a running mate sure to bring home the bacon on this issue and securing the presidency.
With the depressive economic woes,the enviournment,National security,the volitle political temperture in the Middle East surfacing recently, what should be topping off this list is affordable healthcare for all Americans.
Hillary, a dedicated humanitarian, has a prospect at solving this nagging wound to America''s lower and sinking middle classes(and without a middle class...you have no DEMOCRACY) and by doing so most likely making a lasting indelable mark in the coming four years.
I am lucky enough to live in a town with a University Health Sciences Center, which has a medical school, dental school, nursing school, and pharmacy school.
Teaching hospitals and dental schools usually offer services at a discount - they only have to cover their costs - there is no overhead like there would be with a private dental practice.
Dental students and oral hygiene students offer treatments under the supervision of the instructors who are all Board Certified DDS''s and PhD''s.
I have been seeing the same DDS at the Dental School since 1983, and I don''t know where my dental care would come from if it were not for the Dentistry School.
Contact your State Dental Board of Examiners or any Dentistry School - they will probably have information on free and/or low-cost dental services in your area.
Humana actually has a one-year waiting period on major dental work, and I was two weeks shy of my one-year anniversary...and they refused to pay it.
Insurance companies are criminal. Not only do medical providers have to charge too much to cover their malpractice insurance, but then insurance companies don''t pay for a *** thing!
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by not-smiling
July 12, 2009 6:56 PM PDT
- Where are these free dental clinics ? At 65 I have Medicare and Medicaid. I receive Social Security only. I have BAD teeth and gums, with painful sores in my throat and the corners of my mouth. My PCP has recomended that I have my teeth pulled, and at this time, I'd just like to get them all pulled. I'd rather have no teeth at all than the constant pain and smell and slimeyness. (I don't even know if that's a word) Eating is very painful. The swollen gums react when I try to chew and food gets in the cavities. My Grandchildren refuse to come even near enough for a hug. Some how Medicaid and Medicare overlap in such a way that I have a deductible of $290.00 for dental work, and that's for extractions only. I can't afford that. I go to a food pantry once a month and the Commodity Food Program once a month. I want to be able to smile again....... Manchester, NH
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