Sample ANECDOTE 1 - Safety Net Dental Clinic Manual

Sample ANECDOTE 1 - Safety Net Dental Clinic Manual Sample ANECDOTE 1 “If you can’t help me I will never see my 12-year-old daughter again!” a mother cried to me on the telephone. Her daughter had run away from home five times because schoolmates made fun of her facial appearance. She had a handicapping malocclusion and very crooked teeth; her mother could not afford dental care. Sample ANECDOTE 2 Mr. Charles Smith is a 77-year-old man who relies on his $742 a month social security check. His medical expenses are covered under Medicare. Mr. Smith has no dental insurance. Mr. Smith visited a dentist to have dentures made. The dentist could not make the dentures until he had bone spurs removed. The dentist referred him to an oral surgeon. Mr. Smith, accompanied by his daughter, went to the oral surgeon for a consultation. The oral surgeon would remove the bone spurs, including those that were sticking through the gum. The cost would be $1,500. Mr. Smith took a knife and cut off the bone spurs that were sticking out of the gum. He purchased a blender and eats without teeth. Sample ANECDOTE 3 John Small is a 22-year-old male who is in pain. John works in a restaurant as a cook. His employer doesn’t provide medical or dental insurance and John makes $9.00 an hour so he doesn’t have much to spare at the end of the month. This is the story of a young man and his struggle with dental pain. May 2000 John began having pain after he broke a tooth. He didn’t have money to go to a dentist so he didn’t go. Three months later, he began having pain but again, he did not go to a dentist because he couldn’t pay the bill. He just took aspirin to relieve the pain. November 2000 John woke up one morning with excruciating pain so he went to the emergency room at the local hospital. After waiting 2 hours, he saw a doctor who wrote out a prescription for an antibiotic and told him to see his dentist. John did have the prescription filled and took his antibiotic but did not make an appointment to the dentist. He was scraping to make ends meet and didn’t have the money to pay for a dentist. April 2001 John woke up one morning with a swollen face. He was in such pain that he went to the emergency room. Again, they gave him a prescription for an antibiotic and told him to see a dentist. John decided he would go to the dentist before he filled his prescription. He called one dentist to see if he could come in that day. Since John was not a patient of record, he would have to wait until the end of the week for an appointment. John called around to five other dentists until he found one that would take him the next day. John went into the dentist, who examined him. The dentist said there was infection involving multiple teeth. Nothing could be done until the infection subsided so John was provided with an antibiotic prescription and was told to make an appointment with an oral surgeon to have his teeth removed. John paid the $40 exam fee and went home with an antibiotic prescription and still in pain. August 2001 John is having difficulty sleeping due to his pain and he is unable to brush his teeth. John has resorted to eating soup because he can’t chew. He has missed work several times due to the pain and has been told he may loose his job if he misses again. John decides he will save up some money to visit an oral surgeon to see if they can’t take care of the pain. December 2001 John visited an oral surgeon. He told the doctor that he hasn’t been eating because his mouth hurts so much. The doctor examined John and determined that he needs to have all of his teeth removed due to infection. The doctor explained that John must be on antibiotics for a couple of weeks before they can extract the teeth. John was also told the cost would be $2,000. John didn’t make the appointment because he doesn’t have the $2,000 to pay the dentist. John continued to have pain and swelling. He tried to eat but couldn’t keep anything down. He went to the emergency room a couple of more times, only to walk out with a prescription for antibiotics and told to see a dentist. John continued to go to work everyday so he wouldn’t loose his job. His girlfriend, Sara, moved in and they shared expenses. John was continuing to lose weight and couldn’t keep food down. Eventually, John was too sick to work. February 2001 Sara, his girlfriend, took a friend and her son to the local health department for his check-up and shots. Sara saw a brochure about a program for low-income people that can assist with dental care. She took the brochure home and called the number. John was too sick at this point to even get off the couch. Sara talked with a person from the program who said she would give Sara a call back. John was set up with an appointment at a hospital with a dental residency program 60 miles away. John ended up being admitted to the hospital because he was so dehydrated. The dentist could not even perform dental procedures until he was rehydrated. John ended up having four teeth removed and will need more removed after his recuperation.