Man Dies from Tooth Infection, Couldn’t Afford Medication
September 3rd, 2011Via: ABC News:
A 24-year-old Cincinnati father died from a tooth infection this week because he couldn’t afford his medication, offering a sobering reminder of the importance of oral health and the number of people without access to dental or health care.
According to NBC affiliate WLWT, Kyle Willis’ wisdom tooth started hurting two weeks ago. When dentists told him it needed to be pulled, he decided to forgo the procedure, because he was unemployed and had no health insurance.
When his face started swelling and his head began to ache, Willis went to the emergency room, where he received prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medications. Willis couldn’t afford both, so he chose the pain medications.
The tooth infection spread, causing his brain to swell. He died Tuesday.
Calls to Willis’ family were not immediately returned. University Hospital in Cincinnati, where Willis was admitted, did not comment, citing federal privacy laws.
“People don’t realize that dental disease can cause serious illness,” said Dr. Irvin Silverstein, a dentist at the University of California at San Diego. “The problems are not just cosmetic. Many people die from dental disease.”
Willis’ story is not unique. In 2007, 12-year-old Deamonte Driver also died when a tooth infection spread to his brain. The Maryland boy underwent two operations and six weeks of hospital care, totaling $250,000. Doctors said a routine $80 tooth extraction could have saved his life. His family was uninsured and had recently lost its Medicaid benefits, keeping Deamonte from having dental surgery.
“When people are unemployed or don’t have insurance, where do they go? What do they do?” Silverstein said. “People end up dying, and these are the most treatable, preventable diseases in the world.”
“Doctors said a routine $80 tooth extraction could have saved his life.”
I’m sure if they had actually realized that this could kill him they would have come up with the 80 bucks, or figured out another way to get it pulled, but sounds like nobody took the effort to get the idea thru to them that he could very easily die from this.
I had an infected tooth that was not responding to antibiotics. It’s terrible to lose a tooth, but having it pulled got rid of the problem, and it is much much cheaper to have it pulled then the doctors milking you by “trying to save the tooth.” Which is what happened to me – I spent hundreds of dollars trying to save the tooth, and eventually just had to have it pulled. Just another way they milk money out of you.
I guess the bottom line here is you can not trust people that are trying to sell you something, no matter what it is they are trying to sell.
I guess I should have just said that “so-called” professionals are not here to help you, they are here to sell you as much “product” as possible.
i need 4 wisdom teeth out. NZ$2500. I am going to thailand instead… may as well get a holiday at the same time.
Had all my wisdom teeth pulled in 1992. Cost of US$600. Had good insurance then, so only costs me $60. Ah…. the good old days of the high employment, high wages, good bennies tech bubble.