Mother outraged after son has teeth removed at school

We had dental hygienists come to my head start school, but they had to have parent consent to do anything but a cursory inspection (let me count your teeth).

I work with people with disabilities. I gave consent for one of my peeps to get A TOOTH, singular, pulled, then went on vacation. I get back and my assistant is freaking out because they pulled ALL his teeth. Apparently the tiny print on their form said "and do any work we seem necessary." yeah. Not cool.

I'm wondering if there's something similar here? A load of you-know-what regardless. You don't remove part of someone's body, whether it be hair, teeth, etc.! Heck I'd be reluctant to clip a student's hangnail!
 
Probably a mobile clinic, Google Smile Mobile or dental van for pictures.

Probably equipped with a release/permission form as described by flourish.

Probably he needs more supervision while brushing.

He should NOT have walked home!
 
I don't believe we are hearing the full story here.
Unfortunately some children are not able to see doctors and dentists ( some live in extreme poverty and such) so the schools in some areas do provide these services with a parent consent form.
These forms usually have wording like " examine and treat " so they need to be read very carefully. It seems as though this mother did sign a consent form. There's a chance she did not read it carefully.
If she did not want her child to be treated, she could've denied consent. She could've also asked to be present during examination and or treatment.

My job is in an urban area where many children are not getting regular medical care outside of school for many reasons. In some cases, the parents have access to free clinics but still just don't even bother to take the kids to receive the medical care. Some parents are illegal aliens and are afraid to seek medical care. Some don't qualify for Medicaid but still can't afford to see a doctor. ( Those are just a few reasons. Obviously there could be many many more. I'm just giving examples) anyway, when doctors and dentists visit these schools, these kids are finally able to get the care they needed.
And in some districts there's rules as to children walking home alone. For example- if the child lives within two miles of the district he would be allowed to walk home, if busing is not available. This would also require parents consent depending on the age of the child.
They very well could have called mom to pick up her child but if she was unable or didn't answer, they would be allowed to let him walk home by law if he fell within the parameters listed above.
Obviously walking home alone wouldn't be the best option but we don't know the whole story.
It seems to me like mom didn't read the forms properly, IMO .
 
"Why didn’t the school alert the mother? Why was Michael allowed to walk home alone? And why wasn’t he given medication after the procedure?" *

Mom has a beef, maybe/likely/probably a very legit beef. But all the ^ are claims of mother & child. Stated. As. Facts. By. Reporter. Are they facts? IDK. Maybe school called Mom, maybe Mom gave consent; maybe Mom signed to authorize. IDK. Did he receive medication? IDK. Maybe, maybe not.

"...Baltimore City Schools declined WJZ’s request for comment — citing HIPAA and privacy concerns." * sbm Before picking up phone to ask about a named student, imo, reporter knew what response would be: Sorry, no, HIPAA & school policy. Media reps know what response will be. And generally readers/viewers/watchers anticipate that response.
Just bugs me a bit - reporter wrote above three questions, ASSuming they were facts. I'm not questioning the woman or child's veracity, just saying this pt of reporting is not professional.**
:rant: As always, JM2cts.



_______________________________________________________________
* http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/...ram-removes-childs-teeth-without-her-knowing/. Jan 20.

** Is this the quality of reporting expected of a local affiliate of a national broadcast network? Disinterested reporting from a journalism school graduate? Award winning? Seasoned? Did an editor use the blue pencil before publication?
"Devin Bartolotta joined the WJZ Eyewitness News team in July of 2016 as a general assignment reporter.She comes to Baltimore after three years reporting, anchoring, and producing at KTTC-TV in Rochester, Minnesota.
Devin is a three-time EMMY Award winner and has been honored by both the Minnesota Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists
." http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/personality/devin-bartolotta/
 
She signed the permission slip. Case closed.
 
I remember 50 years ago in elementary school a dentist/dental hygienist would come to our classes and talk about the importance of brushing our teeth and would give us that little pill that would turn the plaque pink for us to see that we were not brushing properly, and would show us how to brush and would give us tooth brushes and tooth paste. If they offered to clean/fill/extract our teeth as needed I know my parents would have gladly signed that form.

I would imagine that the boy had problems and probably voiced that to school personal/teacher and that the dental personal didn't just show up and start pulling teeth. At 9 years old to have to have 3-4 teeth extracted? jmo idk
 
I remember 50 years ago in elementary school a dentist/dental hygienist would come to our classes and talk about the importance of brushing our teeth and would give us that little pill that would turn the plaque pink for us to see that we were not brushing properly, and would show us how to brush and would give us tooth brushes and tooth paste. If they offered to clean/fill/extract our teeth as needed I know my parents would have gladly signed that form.

I would imagine that the boy had problems and probably voiced that to school personal/teacher and that the dental personal didn't just show up and start pulling teeth. At 9 years old to have to have 3-4 teeth extracted? jmo idk
I loved those dye pills! My mother hated them so we would beg to use them (the dentist would give us a supply for home). My mom always said we made a mess with them. As if. Lol.
 
She signed the permission slip. Case closed.
Yes, she admitted to signing the permission form, but said she believed it was only to clean his teeth. At the end of the news report linked in the OP, the reporter says the boy was already scheduled to see a family dentist on Monday. If true, why would the mother want her child's teeth cleaned at school? The family dentist always cleans teeth during regular checkups. Did the family have dental insurance?

It sounds like a great program for children whose families do not have access to dental insurance and cannot afford dental care. It doesn't sound like the case for this family, but likely the school sent forms home with all children so as not to single out and embarrass children from low-income families. Maybe parents were wanting to take advantage of a freebie?

Who paid for expense of extractions? If this was a voluntary service provided by community dentists, I wouldn't think the parents would be complaining especially if the extractions were necessary and would have been performed by their family dentist at a cost to them.

When I was unemployed and went to a Volunteers in Medicine clinic in my community, I had a dental checkup there. The dentist took a quick look at my teeth and said they were the best looking set of teeth he'd seen in a long time. Dentists who volunteer their time, imo, have to squeeze in as many patients as they can in a brief period of time. They are not going to perform unnecessary procedures at a cost to them. JMO
 
We had dental hygienists come to my head start school, but they had to have parent consent to do anything but a cursory inspection (let me count your teeth).

I work with people with disabilities. I gave consent for one of my peeps to get A TOOTH, singular, pulled, then went on vacation. I get back and my assistant is freaking out because they pulled ALL his teeth. Apparently the tiny print on their form said "and do any work we seem necessary." yeah. Not cool.

I'm wondering if there's something similar here? A load of you-know-what regardless. You don't remove part of someone's body, whether it be hair, teeth, etc.! Heck I'd be reluctant to clip a student's hangnail!
I used to work in a group home for adults with severe to profound cognitive disabilities. Most had come from a state-operated institution where they had spent their childhood. It was routine at the institution to pull all of the residents' front teeth to discourage biting (we did have some residents with aggressive behaviors and a Hep-B carrier). :mad:

When parents admitted their children to an institution, they believed they were doing what was best for their children's development and well-being but in reality they were signing over their parental rights to allow the institution staff to do as they pleased. Some parents of residents I worked with in the group home suffered MI and could not bear to visit their children because of the guilt they felt over the decision to admit them to an institution where they were ill-treated. :(
 
They just dont take teeth out due to cavities. They pulled several teeth from my daughter a few years ago to make room for the new teeth that were sprouting out. In one of those pictures it looks like another tooth was erupting . kids that age usually get their baby teeth out before the adult ones start to come....poor kid....
 
Yes, she admitted to signing the permission form, but said she believed it was only to clean his teeth. At the end of the news report linked in the OP, the reporter says the boy was already scheduled to see a family dentist on Monday. If true, why would the mother want her child's teeth cleaned at school? The family dentist always cleans teeth during regular checkups. Did the family have dental insurance?

It sounds like a great program for children whose families do not have access to dental insurance and cannot afford dental care. It doesn't sound like the case for this family, but likely the school sent forms home with all children so as not to single out and embarrass children from low-income families. Maybe parents were wanting to take advantage of a freebie?

Who paid for expense of extractions? If this was a voluntary service provided by community dentists, I wouldn't think the parents would be complaining especially if the extractions were necessary and would have been performed by their family dentist at a cost to them.

When I was unemployed and went to a Volunteers in Medicine clinic in my community, I had a dental checkup there. The dentist took a quick look at my teeth and said they were the best looking set of teeth he'd seen in a long time. Dentists who volunteer their time, imo, have to squeeze in as many patients as they can in a brief period of time. They are not going to perform unnecessary procedures at a cost to them. JMO

Many schools have this program happening. Its totally optional for parents and a school that receives title one funding from the federal government participates in this. They offer free dental check ups for all the students regardless if they have insurance or not but a parent is allowed to opt out. I have seen the parental form, very legally written and might confuse some parents.
 
A child's 20 baby teeth, which often come in by age 3, usually fall out in the same order they came in. That means the lower center teeth (lower center incisors) are usually the first to go, around age 6 or 7.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_losing-baby-teeth-what-to-expect-and-when_3658971.bc


If your child hasn’t lost her first tooth by age seven, you may want to get some X-rays done. Extra teeth in the bone, says Friedman, could prevent the permanent teeth from pushing out the baby teeth.

http://www.todaysparent.com/kids/baby-teeth-when-do-kids-start-losing-them/

image at link.

http://www.wnem.com/story/34330447/mom-says-school-pulled-sons-teeth-without-her-permission


jmo I am thinking the teeth pulled were primary teeth.
 
Yes, she admitted to signing the permission form, but said she believed it was only to clean his teeth.

key word here is "believed" which is basically equal to saying "assumed",

what she "believes" or "assumes" is probably very different from what the form actually indicates if you read it entirely including all the fine print,

i am fairly certain we are not hearing the entire story here, and if the "fine print" on the signed document is read, the parent/guardian most likely agreed to what was done to their child by signing the form,

lesson here is.....never sign anything until you read EVERYTHING including fine print,

this is the fault of the parent/guardian for signing the form, another case of somebody trying to blame others for their own obvious mistakes,

"I just don’t understand how a school or a company can take it in their hands to do something like this to a child," Shanda Flemming told the station.

well they didn't take it in their own hands, you agreed to it, read the document you signed,

what they did will probably do no harm anyway, if anything it will help




..
 
Getting dental care is just about impossible unless you have dental insurance or have cash upfront.

There are some kind of low interest loans for dental. I forget what they are called.

My dentist does some care for lowincome but it is limited because the supplies cost a lot.

I hope that this does not involve a lawsuit and then the free dental care at schools will stop.
 
Terrible mother who allowed her child's teeth to get to a state that they needed to be pulled. Unbelievable.
 
Nothing to add really, but the picture of the boy crying in the article just broke my heart. :( traumatic enough to go through, but to have news people in your face and mom making such a big fuss, too....

I do have to wonder about missing the bus and having to walk home. Not cool if that's true.
 
Getting dental care is just about impossible unless you have dental insurance or have cash upfront.

There are some kind of low interest loans for dental. I forget what they are called.

My dentist does some care for lowincome but it is limited because the supplies cost a lot.

I hope that this does not involve a lawsuit and then the free dental care at schools will stop.
I know what loans you are speaking of, but cannot remember the name. I have a brochure on it upstairs (cannot get up there now due to bad back) from when I applied to for a loan last year to replace a crown that came out. I eventually opted to go the cheaper route and have the original crown cemented back in.

Sort of OT: Less than 2 weeks after my last dental checkup, a piece of tooth fell out (I was only eating tortilla chips and salsa :)). The dental hygienist did pick around my gums and scrape my teeth especially hard (tartar buildup), so my teeth and gums had been pretty sore afterwards. I tried calling them the next day after work (I got off at noon) only to find out they closed at noon on Friday. I couldn't even reach their emergency number. The following day my back went out, so now that takes priority over my tooth.

Anyway, I understand parents wanting to know beforehand of any major work needed on their children's teeth, but they need to read the permission form thoroughly and if they don't consent to the terms they can opt out. I'm not one to complain on behalf of myself, but I know I'll be looking for a new dentist. :run:
 

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