Wednesday, December 13, 2006

dentistry for the disabled (or the lack of...)


This very special lady was almost in tears yesterday, because the dentist who helped her last summer when she was in terrible pain told us that he NO LONGER accepts Medicaid for payment. He was the only private dentist in our area who would treat Donna. There are no longer any dentists in our area who accept Medicaid, and Donna has a broken molar that needs to be extracted, and a tooth in the front that needs a root canal and crown. I'm sorry, but I feel this is a terrible disgrace. These dentists really should to be ashamed to let her suffer like this. They can easily afford to take one or two medicaid patients. I know the insurance on the two Mercedes' is high, but with the fees that they charge the rest of us, they can somehow manage to scrape by...ha! (compared to most of the people we know they are more than well off!) There is a dental clinic at the hospital that will take Medicaid patients, but Donna received very poor treatment there last summer and is afraid to go back. The people who do the work there are still in training. They are dental residents...NOT licensed dentists. Shouldn't Donna have the right to be treated by a private dentist of her choice? Don't the disabled deserve the same quality of dental care as anyone else?! If you feel that they do, please let us know. (The rest of the story can be found below).