The location of the clinic was not disclosed, but it appears that the information sent by State agency, directed the patients to be tested.
Apparently, they were being tested for two forms of hepatitis plus the AIDS virus.
Scary stuff.
I hope that the people will all checkout to be ok!
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Do not overlook / forget about dental health problem prevention as well. Many
expensive dental procedures could be avoided in the first place, if
patient's were more educated about prevention. My favorite.
Nice article. However, it is rather lengthy. Let me break it down to the simple facts.
Basically, they figured out that medicaid cuts are allowing people only one alternative, an emergency room visit or office visit that will allow only for a pulled tooth.
But pulled teeth are quite expensive and so are their replacements. "They" have realized that prevention is more cost effective than having someone wait to have a tooth pulled. A cheaper procedure earlier or prevention would do the job just fine! Thank you.
This is the problem today. Prevention does pay. It pays for the government to support as we see in this article. But more importantly, it pays individuals - no matter what socioeconomic class they may be in.
You see, lost teeth are expensive, no matter how you look at. Something has to be placed in that lost space. Either a partial / full denture or a costly implant for those who have the money. But problems don't always stop there!
Loss of another tooth means modification to a denture or a new implant. Gum disease is a big reason people lose their teeth.
Prevention pays. I'll say it again. This is the biggest message this website can give you. Please help to spread the word.
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Do not overlook / forget about prevention as well. Many
expensive dental procedures could be avoided in the first place, if
patient's were more educated about prevention. My favorite.
Inspector's found improper procedures, improper sterilization protocols, rusty instruments and staff not authorized to administer sedation IVs, among other problems at an Oral Surgeon's Office in Oklahoma.
Frightening!
Letter's were sent out to about 7,000 patients urging them to be tested for HIV.
Please Be Careful
If you are a dental health professional, please be ever so careful about these 'little details'. It is not fair to your patients to use rusted instruments, improper sterilization protocols or to reuse drug vials.
Patients deserve the best care. I am sure they are paying for the best.
I do not know what to say about this type of thing. It is horrible. I hope that it doesn't happen very often as one expert suggested.
Patient Safety Should Come First.
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And don't forget about prevention as well. Many expensive dental procedures could be avoided in the first place, if patient's were more educated about prevention. My favorite.
Dr. Wiant's article is very interesting. It states that nearly 4 out of every 10 Coloradans don't have dental insurance.
Caring For Colorado Foundation has been able to increase patient visits over the last 10 years by a substantial amount. In addition, they have helped to establish 10 non-profit clinics. That's Awesome!
I applaud the Caring For Colorado Foundation for their efforts. I also applaud Dr. Wiant for sharing this great information with us.
It seems to me, based on limited knowledge, that a similar under served population exists in many states in the US. Dental care is expensive and dental insurance is perhaps even less prevalent than regular health insurance.
The US sure is having a tough time with health care isn't it? The cost of dental care when compared to GDP is so much higher than most (or perhaps all) other developed nations. That is incredible, isn't it?
Unfortunately, the problems don't seem to be fundamentally fixable. As of yet, there has not been a solution that everyone will agree upon that actually works towards lowering health care costs and thereby presumably allowing access for more people.
As we have seen with other recent legislation, once a bill goes to lobby, it is subject to all kinds of changes from various influencers. That means powerful money groups with big budgets will exert their influence.
Unfortunately, what these power groups want (for their group members or special interests) often does not square with what is best for the people or the nation.
But perhaps the Caring For Colorado Foundation has set an example for a possible partial solution or offset to the problem.
Congrats again to the foundation and thanks to Dr. Wiant for writing this article.
I would love to hear some comment's from dental health professionals on this??
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And don't forget about prevention as well. Many expensive dental
procedures could be avoided in the first place, if patient's were more
educated about prevention. My favorite.
I honestly think this is no surprise at all. The problem is always the question of "Who's funding the research?".
Private companies found out a long time ago they could get researchers to say things that - well frankly might be 'questionable' to their non-influenced peers. But, over the years, this has continued.
And it will likely continue from here. We can make laws and I am quite sure there are many in place. The problem is one of the heart. People can and will be influenced by money.
You could make it so that only the government would be able to dole out research dollars. But that would increase costs to the taxpayers and government agencies have often been accused of being influenced by the private sector as well.
So, if there is a solution to this potential problem, it might have to be a rather complicated one. And in the end, there may not be a 'truly workable solution' to this problem.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where people don't necessarily police their own actions. So, unless that changes, we are unlikely to see a change in the 'reality' of our world.
It's important that people always ask the question: "Where did the money come from." The reason is to be aware of possible influences.
Researchers live in a political world as well. If they take their research in a 'politically incorrect' direction, they risk being blacklisted and cut off from future funding. This is a scary proposition for a researcher!
Many researchers simply look at what these power groups and influencers want and then custom tailor a research project that might lead to the desired results. This is how many researchers continue to fund their research.
It is sad, and it is unlikely to change. Any thoughts? Please share them in the comments below.
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And let us not forget about prevention as well. Many expensive dental
procedures could be avoided in the first place, if patient's were more
educated about prevention. My favorite.
This is a very interesting development. The article says there is a shortage in 15 counties in Maine and that 55% of children lack access to dental care.
Wow, that's a shocker. No wonder they want to do something about that. If you are a dental hygienist, this might be a good time to consider relocation.
I wish the story specified exactly what the newly empowered hygienists' scope of work will be. But there was no mention of that. It is also doesn't tell us if there will be additional training offered to those hygienists.
The bill is being sponsored by Mark Eves (House Speaker) and Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio ( a former dental hygienist)
I wonder what it is about Maine that they have a shortage of dentists? If you understand the situation and have commentary, please provide it in the comment section below.
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And don't forget about prevention as well. Many expensive dental
procedures could be avoided in the first place, if patient's were more
educated about prevention. My favorite.
What I like about the article is that it helps to underscore how drastic the problem is. Generally speaking, most dental health professionals are going to say that about 75% of people have gum disease right now.
The biggest question you should have after reading that is: Am I one of that 75%? Statistically speaking, the odds are not in your favor!
What I don't like about the article
This article does not tell the public what they can do to prevent or mitigate this problem. It seems only to seek to tell people the problem exists.
This lack of information is one of the major reasons I wrote the book: What You Should Know About Gum Disease: A Layman's Guide To Fighting Gum Disease.
It's interesting to me that the public still has little understanding of what the problem is and what they can do to fight against or prevent it from occurring in the first place.
Why Is The Right Information Obscured?
I honestly don't have a good answer to explain why people in general, after all of this time, still do not know what a threat gum disease is to their health and their wallets.
Yet, the fact remains that the majority of people are ignorant and will end up losing teeth and / or spending a LOT of money on expensive treatments as they age.
Perhaps the book mentioned above will give you a better chance than average person of succeeding to stave off this problem as well as save yourself a lot of money in the long run.
I can only point people to it. But, I cannot make anyone pay attention. I hope you will be different. I think you will find the information in that book to be extremely valuable to you!
* I speak in general terms only on this site and in the above reports. Questions about your unique dental health situation should be addressed to your periodontist or dentist for answers, diagnosis, advice and treatment.
* but do read my commentary first as it touches on the areas that article does not really address.
Prevention
The above story focused a great deal on the current and upcoming need for dentists. It briefly touched on preventive measures but did not mention what those measures are / would be.
What are the things you can do to improve prevention? The first part is to break some of the myths about dental health and dental care. Many people tend to think that if they brush and floss their teeth they are doing everything they can to prevent dental health issues.
Unfortunately, dental health professionals, generally speaking, tell us that about 75% of people have gum disease today. That is 3 out of every 4 people!
Yet, I know that most people would never consider themselves to be someone that has gum disease!
So, there is a mismatch between reality and people's perceptions somewhere.
Most people are not going to find out about this problem for some time. When they do, it will often be accompanied by the need for an expensive treatment.
I told my story about this problem and what I did to stop it in the book: What You Should Know About Gum Disease : A Layman's Guide to Fighting Gum Disease You can read more about it here.
I am hoping that this information will help more people to avoid expensive dental health costs and give people a better chance to keep their natural teeth for a lifetime of good service.
Since gum disease is the number one reason people lose their teeth, it only makes sense that we all want to keep our gums healthy! Yet, we know that about 75 % or a whole lot of people have a problem in this area.
PPS: Get this free guide (with email address submit) on dental health
* I speak in general terms only here. Specific questions about your own unique dental health situation should be addressed by your dentist or periodontist.