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Lack of Dental Care Equates to Child Abuse?

September 15, 2006 on 12:14 pm | In Nationwide Dental Benefits, News |

Lack of Dental Care Equates to Child Abuse?

“Mom Jailed Because Of Son’s Rotten Teeth, Woman Thought Teeth Would Just Fall Out” was the headline on Local6.com’s website on September 14, 2006.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A Pennsylvania mother is behind bars because, police said, her son’s lack of dental care was her fault. Read the entire story here.

WOW! It’s a good thing there isn’t any such thing as “Self Abuse” or my finely tuned skills of dentist aversion techniques would probably land me in jail!

My curiousity was piqued by this news story. - “According to court documents, his mother said she knew her son was hurting, but did not take him to a dentist because she figured his baby teeth would fall out and the problem would fix itself.”

I’m wondering to myself as I’m reading it, WHY wouldn’t she take her son to a dentist? At the very least, to find out if her theory of his teeth “just fixing themselves” was viable?

Could it have been purely financial? Did this woman not have dental insurance? Did she not know of the existence of discount dental plans?

If that is the case, how do we “get the word out” about discount dental plans? Is blogging about dental plans that are an affordable alternative to dental insurance enough? Is having a website about discount dental plans enough? Short of walking down the street, shouting at the top of my lungs, “Hey! Here is a list of discount dental plans that are available” - what is enough?

I don’t really have an answer. Not yet anyway! I will keep you posted.