Jack, that is exactly the reason they recommend starting in infancy BEFORE they need work done. They will have a few POSITIVE experiences with the dentist first. My kids' first visits, all they did was sit in the chair, play with the equipment; move up and down in the chair, etc. I have no problem taking them to the dentist now; one of them LOVES to go- LOL!
PA - Mom jailed for son's rotten teeth
- Thread starter bakerprune64
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The woman was too heartless to care if her son was in pain for over a year....too careless and lazy to care about his health....and too stupid to realize that this type of infection can get in your system and even KILL you, well....she shouldn't be raising kids.
This is the first I've heard of dentists not taking small children - but: considering his condition and his pain, I fail to believe that if she'd asked around.....asked the school nurse, gone to welfare, taken him straight to the hospital....that SOMEONE wouldn't have helped her, whether she had money or not.
She just didn't want to be bothered.
This is the first I've heard of dentists not taking small children - but: considering his condition and his pain, I fail to believe that if she'd asked around.....asked the school nurse, gone to welfare, taken him straight to the hospital....that SOMEONE wouldn't have helped her, whether she had money or not.
She just didn't want to be bothered.
kgeaux
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christine2448 said:
You must be like me, christine, BLESSED to live in an area where there are pediatric dentists. I know my boys all saw the dentist BEFORE they even had teeth!!! We even have a community health center where working poor people can have access to free care, medical and dental.
But there are areas in our country where there are no pediatric dentists. There are areas where the working poor don't have access to free or reduced cost care. If that is true in the area where this young one lived, his mom may have felt she had no choice in the beginning. It does sound like she eventually sought care for him, way too little way too late, IMO, but without knowing her circumstances it's hard for me to make a judgement.
Poor little guy, though. His agony must have been great.
gardenmom
Former Member
Excuse me, but you cannot say that for certain. My children had dentists visits at young ages. I cannot remember exactly when, but it was young. They had good experiences. Both my children went to the same dentists. My daughter, no problem. Loves the dentist. Recently had a tooth filled, no problem. My son, well, I can sympathsize with Jack. Our experiences are very similar. You cannot predict a fear in children. Lucky you that you have children that are so cooperative.Sheromom said:
Jack, my dentists(2 of them), also pediatric, also yelled at my son. I was livid, especially when the one grabbed my son by his arms (and this was just while talking to him, he was sitting at a regular chair, the dentist had already given up on him), my son was terrified. I was pissed. He also wanted to do the work in a hospital, which would have cost me almost $1000 because the anestesia was not covered by my insurance.
I'm not saying this woman was right. I agree that a foster child may have had full coverage. My parents had foster chidlren and they had insurance for them. However, we do not know the full story. Like someone said, how long did she have this child?
Linda7NJ
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My friends son had to have all of his teeth pulled at age two. The kid had really bad teeth, they were rotted looking and broken off. I've heard it called "bottle rot" but I think she said it was from antibiotics she had taken while pregnant caused it.
I appreciate all the comments and suggestions about where to go for dental care.
My children are no longer toddlers. I posted my own experience to illustrate that EVEN with insurance its often not easy to find a dentist who will treat a young child. My hubby worked for the state so we pretty much had the best insurance money could buy.
Anngelique.... I don't understand not treating a cavity ... By not treating it it will only become worse thereby creating further problems.
There is some missing element to this story. This is a foster child... I can't imagine that there was no case worker involved in checking on him.
He certainly had seen a pediatrician at least once a year for a "well" checkup and vaccinations.
I would really be interested in knowing what the pediatrician told this women?
What about the first dentist? Sounds like the child could not have been that bad off if the first dentist didn't do anything.
My children are no longer toddlers. I posted my own experience to illustrate that EVEN with insurance its often not easy to find a dentist who will treat a young child. My hubby worked for the state so we pretty much had the best insurance money could buy.
Anngelique.... I don't understand not treating a cavity ... By not treating it it will only become worse thereby creating further problems.
There is some missing element to this story. This is a foster child... I can't imagine that there was no case worker involved in checking on him.
He certainly had seen a pediatrician at least once a year for a "well" checkup and vaccinations.
I would really be interested in knowing what the pediatrician told this women?
What about the first dentist? Sounds like the child could not have been that bad off if the first dentist didn't do anything.
sadiesue
Active Member
I'm a pediatriac dental assistant, and I wish I could say this case is unusual, but it's not.
We treat kids in the office and in the O.R. that are just as bad all the time.
Medicaid picks up the tab in most cases, occasionally insurance, but around 90% have Medicaid.
What's different, though, is that 95% of the time, the hospital case actually happens, the parents don't blow off the treatment like this mother did.
Around here, the only ones (young with 6+ cavities) who don't get treated in the O.R. are the Amish. They pay cash and have us extract most big problems, and fix minor ones.
I'm so sorry for the poster who couldn't get treatment for her Autistic child. Our practice treats Autistic kids and adults and adults with all sorts of handicaps that might require extra care and patience. And for especially difficult ones, we might ask the child's Dr. to prescribe a relaxing pre-med, or use nitrous. I'm sad you had such trouble.
We treat kids in the office and in the O.R. that are just as bad all the time.
Medicaid picks up the tab in most cases, occasionally insurance, but around 90% have Medicaid.
What's different, though, is that 95% of the time, the hospital case actually happens, the parents don't blow off the treatment like this mother did.
Around here, the only ones (young with 6+ cavities) who don't get treated in the O.R. are the Amish. They pay cash and have us extract most big problems, and fix minor ones.
I'm so sorry for the poster who couldn't get treatment for her Autistic child. Our practice treats Autistic kids and adults and adults with all sorts of handicaps that might require extra care and patience. And for especially difficult ones, we might ask the child's Dr. to prescribe a relaxing pre-med, or use nitrous. I'm sad you had such trouble.
SadieSue I am lucky that my 12 YO has never had a severe dental issue when he was younger.sadiesue said:
I simply wanted a dental check up for him.
Possibly my post was confusing. The instance with the cavity was my other child not my autistic one.
There is a dentist that I can now take him to. They will put him to sleep and then do any work needed. Which IMO is the only option for either a very young or a disabled child. Many children can be coaxed into behaving at the dentists office with a compassionate staff. There is no need to strap them down.
Funny enough recently my 12YO (the one with autisim) has taken to carrying his toothbrush with him everywhere! The other day I took him to the pediatrician and before he gets on the table he empties his pockets ... Out comes the toothbrush! LOL
Wenchie.... I think your jumping to a conclusion without all the information.
I am not ready to say this women let this child suffer.
SHE DID TAKE HIM TO A DENTIST. The first one passed him on to someone else. Until I learn more I am going with the notion that she had a very hard time finding a dentist who was willing to treat him.
We can all sit here and say "Someone would have treated him!"
I am telling you that is not always the case. Very possibly when he was younger no one would treat him.
And again I ask ??? Where the hell was the case worker? This is a foster child.
Did this women have him since he was a baby? Possibly she did not get him until recently?
There is a two month lapse between seeing the first dentist and the second.
Is it possible that was the earliest appt she could get?
To many unanswered questions here.
kcolville
New Member
This is unreal. I hope she never gets her child back. As for dentists refusing to see children under 5, go to a pediadontist. They do treat children under 5. No excuses for this child not having treatment. If she was too poor she could have had it done with medicaid, dental care is free with medicaid so insurance should not have been a factor. And even if it was a factor, I dont care how much it would have cost, if my child was in pain due to a cavity (let alone 12 of them) I would have taken her to the emergency room. In this day and age there is no excuse for a child to be in pain from a cavity.
I don't think I'm jumping to conclusions. If he had just recently come into her care, she wouldn't have been charged for this.
The kid had been in PAIN since the summer of 2005. The is the autumn of 2006.
It's disgraceful. If she was involved in the foster care system, it would have been easier for her than for you or I. All she had to do is call the agency, tell them the problem, and ask them where she should go.
The kid had been in PAIN since the summer of 2005. The is the autumn of 2006.
It's disgraceful. If she was involved in the foster care system, it would have been easier for her than for you or I. All she had to do is call the agency, tell them the problem, and ask them where she should go.
Beyond Belief
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bakerprune64
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Exactly my point. This child wouldn't have been removed from her care if he had only been placed there for a few months. This was a long term neglect issue in my book.wenchie said:
angelmom
The love stays...forever in our hearts
wenchie said:
I don't know what to think, but to be fair...yes, it is autumn now, but she took him to the dentist last December and saw the specialist in early February.
This all happened well over 6 months ago, but the mother was only recently JAILED for it.
GaGirl
Mommy of One
Amraann said:
I agree, Amraann. Especially being a foster child & being on Medicaid, that automatically takes so many dentists out of the equation. Many dentists don't like to take Medicaid patients because the reimbursement is so low. So, if your pool of available dentists is so thin, and the number of those on Medicaid is soooo high, I'm sure it would take many months to secure an appointment.Amraann said:
I'm not ready to hang her out to dry just yet. There's too many questions. We don't KNOW how long the child was in her custody. Sure, it's been said that if he just recently came into her custody that she wouldn't have been placed in jail----that's assuming that a public/governmental agency doesn't make grave mistakes???? Come on, we've all seen it time and time again---fatal mistakes, even, being made not by the Post Office, not by Social Security, but by DCFS (Dept. Children & Family Services.) I'm not coming down on them because I know that many times they aren't given the manpower or appropriate resources to always make just decisions---but the fact remains that there are numerous instances where they have made serious errors. The possibility of this being one of those times DOES exist. We just don't know.
Additionally, we all know how untrustworthy the media is. Just because they wrote it doesn't make it true.
And just HOW did they acquire this boys medical records? Hmmm.... I know someone already asked that, sorry forgot who, but it bears repeating. Not only did they get ahold of these, they PUBLISHED them!! I am fairly positive they obtained/published them without the legal authority to do so. That is a major HIPPA violation. They would've had to obtain written consent from the DCFS agency at the very least. It's one thing to give permission for someone to OBTAIN the records. It's entirely different when those records of a minor child are published for all to see. I don't see the newspaper pubishing them without consent, so why would DCFS allow those records to be released? That is quite worrisome to me, because it smacks of someone in DCFS not acting ethically. Wonder why? Was there bad blood between the case worker and the mother? I don't know....I keep thinking of the old Salem Witch Trials. Kind of a dumb comparison, but really....what did DCFS hope to gain by allowing his records to be published? I think the only thing they could accomplish out of that is to help solidify a sour opinion of the foster mother or to solidify their actions of jailing her. And why would DCFS feel the need to solidify their actions? I can't think of another reason. Anyone?
There's just too many questions......
englishleigh
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Clear out your PM box!!!
Thanks!
Thanks!
IF she was that poor, she would have been on welfare, and it wouldn't have cost her anything. My children have been going to the dentist since they were 9 months old. Every six months. We went to a dentist that specialized in children. When they turned 12, they moved on to a regular dentist.gardenmom said:
This is not a case about her being POOR.
Everyone keeps saying that but this child was a FOSTER child.
So I want to know where the heck DCF was last year?
As illustrated above this child was seen by a dentist in December of 05 his teeth pulled in February.
ANd its not till now that he is removed and she is arrested?
It is great for all of you who live in areas where pediactric dentists seem to be falling out of the woowork.
She took him to a Dentist and then 2 months later to another.
I am suggesting that it was difficult to find a dentist to treat him and once she did there possibly was a 2 month wait.
Many of you continue stating that your children went to dentists at young ages.
That is great.. But you cannot base that availability in your area to someone elses.
Off topic but similair ..... Many of you probably cannot fathom living in an area where there is no OB/Gyn's or even a Maternity ward.
Can you Imagine having to drive 1 1/2 to 2 hours to a hospital?
If you live near here you would have to in order to find one that delivers babies.
Furthermore DCF did release what is claimed to be dental records of this child yet they aren't explaining for how long this women had this child or why they were not checking like they should.
Everyone keeps saying that but this child was a FOSTER child.
So I want to know where the heck DCF was last year?
As illustrated above this child was seen by a dentist in December of 05 his teeth pulled in February.
ANd its not till now that he is removed and she is arrested?
It is great for all of you who live in areas where pediactric dentists seem to be falling out of the woowork.
She took him to a Dentist and then 2 months later to another.
I am suggesting that it was difficult to find a dentist to treat him and once she did there possibly was a 2 month wait.
Many of you continue stating that your children went to dentists at young ages.
That is great.. But you cannot base that availability in your area to someone elses.
Off topic but similair ..... Many of you probably cannot fathom living in an area where there is no OB/Gyn's or even a Maternity ward.
Can you Imagine having to drive 1 1/2 to 2 hours to a hospital?
If you live near here you would have to in order to find one that delivers babies.
Furthermore DCF did release what is claimed to be dental records of this child yet they aren't explaining for how long this women had this child or why they were not checking like they should.