PA - Mom jailed for son's rotten teeth

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bakerprune64

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This kid is only 5 YO...

A Pennsylvania mother is behind bars because, police said, her son's lack of dental care was her fault.

snip....According to court documents, his mother said she knew her son was hurting, but did not take him to a dentist because she figured his baby teeth would fall out and the problem would fix itself.

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/9847350/detail.html

Unreal, If my children were in pain they'd be in the dentisit chair the same day. IMO, she deserves what she is being charged with.
 
This is so sad. My prayers to this little boy and his family.

Not everyone considers dental health a priority. In my house, my husband is in charge of taking both kids to the dentist. I won't do it. I hate dentists with the white hot passion of a thousand burning suns. Luckily I have good teeth and gums and don't have to go very often (ie - only when my husband forces me to).
 
bakerprune64 said:
This kid is only 5 YO...

A Pennsylvania mother is behind bars because, police said, her son's lack of dental care was her fault.

snip....According to court documents, his mother said she knew her son was hurting, but did not take him to a dentist because she figured his baby teeth would fall out and the problem would fix itself.

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/9847350/detail.html

Unreal, If my children were in pain they'd be in the dentisit chair the same day. IMO, she deserves what she is being charged with.
Click to expand...

The Article says she did take him to a dentist and that was when DCF was called..
It is often very difficult to find a dentist who will even treat a child under 5.
I can tell you that in central Florida it was nearly impossible.
My youngest had a cavity and even though I had insurance I Still could not find a dentist who would treat him.
Even the one I eventually found one she would do nothing because he wasn't 5 yet. I had to drive over an hour even to get to her office.
That same dentist had absolutely no suggestion about where to go.
Granted this was very rural central Florida... But still it should not have been a problem.
I was furious that I had been paying for dental insurance for 4+ years only to find it was in effect useless when he needed a dentist. Our plan did not have even one Pediatric dentist available.
The eventual solution was antibiotics and the tooth was very close to falling out.

I do feel bad for this child but I am not so quick to condemn his mother.
Hearing that he was 5 makes me think that the same dental practice goes on in PA as in FL.
 
My stepdaughter started going once she had her first tooth. Never heard of a dentist turning away a child.


Amraann said:
The Article says she did take him to a dentist and that was when DCF was called..
It is often very difficult to find a dentist who will even treat a child under 5.
I can tell you that in central Florida it was nearly impossible.
My youngest had a cavity and even though I had insurance I Still could not find a dentist who would treat him.
Click to expand...
 
It is a wonder the infection in his mouth didn't get to his blood stream. I would look at his diet too, I'm sure that played a roll in it as well. Poor little fellow, had to be painful.
 
Masissy said:
It is a wonder the infection in his mouth didn't get to his blood stream. I would look at his diet too, I'm sure that played a roll in it as well. Poor little fellow, had to be painful.
Click to expand...
My goddaughter was in China until she was 9 months old. She is six now and has been having major dental issues (soft teeth, tons of cavaties, root canals...) since she was 4. She doesn't eat lots of sweets, but she was born with bad teeth and probably didn't get proper nutrients in the orphange which could have added to the problem.

It's hard for me to relate. I never had a cavity until after the birth of my second child at 36. And I have always eaten way too many sweets!

I hope this sweet little boy is getting all the care he needs now.
 
Amraann said:
I am not so quick to condemn his mother.
Click to expand...
This is horrible abuse!

"the nerves are exposed in several places."

"12 of them so infected they had to be pulled"

"the boy had been complaining of headaches and pain in his mouth since the summer of 2005."

Ever had a toothache? Imagine having 12 toothaches for over a FLIPPIN YEAR!!!! This isn't just 1 tooth people, 12, 12 teeth!!!!!!


"his mother said she knew her son was hurting"

Any decent parent would have done anything they could to find help for their child who was in pain, ANYTHING!


"He said the boy is now left with only six teeth on the bottom and two teeth on top and has a long road ahead"

"He's not going to have all of his permanent teeth, and for the next 10 years chewing food will be a problem for him,"

I'm first in line with plyers in hand to pull this biatchs teeth, slowly, one by one, there is absolutley NO excuse for this, NONE! :furious:
 
christine2448 said:
This is horrible abuse!

"the nerves are exposed in several places."

"12 of them so infected they had to be pulled"

"the boy had been complaining of headaches and pain in his mouth since the summer of 2005."

Ever had a toothache? Imagine have multiple toothaches for over a FLIPPIN YEAR!!!! This isn't just 1 tooth people, 12, 12 teeth!!!!!!


"his mother said she knew her son was hurting"

Any decent parent would have done anything they could to find help for their child who was in pain, ANYTHING!


"He said the boy is now left with only six teeth on the bottom and two teeth on top and has a long road ahead"

"He's not going to have all of his permanent teeth, and for the next 10 years chewing food will be a problem for him,"

I'm first in line with plyers in hand to pull this biatchs teeth, slowly, one by one, there is absolutley NO excuse for this, NONE! :furious:
Click to expand...
First off it should be noted that dentists need to keep their jobs active.
That is to say they will do a root canal for 8K rather then pull a tooth. They will fight and refuse to not pull a tooth.
This women took her child to the dentist when he was FIVE.
I don't know where you all live. But I am telling you there are places where no dentist will see a child before the age of 5.

I am just not so quick to judge her knowing how hard it was to find a dentist.

Christine?? what should she had done? There is no mention of no pediatric care. Nor any of serious weightloss.
Before I believe all of this I want to know those things.
 
Amraann said:
First off it should be noted that dentists need to keep their jobs active.
That is to say they will do a root canal for 8K rather then pull a tooth. They will fight and refuse to not pull a tooth.
This women took her child to the dentist when he was FIVE.
I don't know where you all live. But I am telling you there are places where no dentist will see a child before the age of 5.

I am just not so quick to judge her knowing how hard it was to find a dentist.

Christine?? what should she had done? There is no mention of no pediatric care. Nor any of serious weightloss.
Before I believe all of this I want to know those things.
Click to expand...
The child had been complaining of pain and she chose to wait unitl his teeth fell out assuming it would fix the problem. Bottom line is the kid was in pain and needed immediate attention and she failed to find that for him. The article makes no mention of her not being able to find dental care for him, but the she instead chose not to seek the service. Amra, I already know how you feel about dentisits, but this really is a neglectful situation. As one of the other posters mentioned, what if this had filtered into his bloodstream.
 
Amraann said:
First off it should be noted that dentists need to keep their jobs active.
That is to say they will do a root canal for 8K rather then pull a tooth. They will fight and refuse to not pull a tooth.
Click to expand...
That's the truth!:doh:

I too am not so quick to judge this mother until more information is known.
 
Amraann said:
Christine?? what should she had done? There is no mention of no pediatric care. Nor any of serious weightloss.
Before I believe all of this I want to know those things.
Click to expand...
She should have taken her child to the dentist much sooner!!!!

Most dentists recommend dental visits at 12 months...not 5 yrs! I have never heard of wait till 5 yrs old. I lived in FL too, and my son went by 12 months when I lived there. Not saying you are being untruthful, just unheard of. Terrible you were treated like that!

Starting dental care for children

By the time your child is 6 months of age, your doctor should assess the likelihood of your child having future dental problems.

http://health.yahoo.com/topic/oralcare/baby/article/healthwise/hw144452
 
I live in ohio and when my daughter was 4 she needed to go to the dentist and it was hell trying to find one who would see her. They said she had to be 5. I didn't understand why and was mad especially since I knew she needed seen. Finally I found one about 45 mins away, and we didn't live any where rural it was in the city and actually went to a smaller city that would do it.
 
christine2448 said:
She should have taken her child to the dentist much sooner!!!!

Most dentists recommend dental visits at 12 months...not 5 yrs! I have never heard of wait till 5 yrs old. I lived in FL too, and my son went by 12 months when I lived there. Not saying you are being untruthful, just unheard of. Terrible you were treated like that!

Starting dental care for children

By the time your child is 6 months of age, your doctor should assess the likelihood of your child having future dental problems.

http://health.yahoo.com/topic/oralcare/baby/article/healthwise/hw144452
Click to expand...

I do not know what child sees a dentist at 6 months old.
Christine there was NO dentist who would see a child under the age of 5.
Maybe down near Tampa.
Not Were I lived.
I will even concede that possibly a dentist would "look" at their teeth. But Any treatment for problems was not provided.

I want to add here that after that experience I had an absolute fit with my insurance company.
And my children all have lovely teeth.
There is more to this story.

Let me tell you something.... Richie has never been to a dentist and his pediatricians AGREE with me.
Because until a few years ago the only dentist in the state who would see an autistic child would NOT medicate them but strap them down and go to it.
Over my dead body would I permit that. The pediatrician, having seen his teeth agreed that it was cruel to permit that.
Now Miami's Dan Marino center has Dentists who will put him to sleep and treat him. The waiting list as you can imagine is months long. Richie has no pending issue so that is ok.
Also I want to know how the media got a copy of this childs supposed dental records???
Medical records of any kind are confidential.

I also want to add here... That the only teeth I ever had problems with were the ones the dentist said I needed filled.
They were filled when I was six...
Guess what?? By the time I was 18 every one had to be root canalled or pulled.
And I can tell of friends who had teeth root canalled and in later years had to have them re-done.

Look at this case...........She DID take him to the dentist!
We have yet to even address the socio-economic issues.
She took him.. obvioulsy trying to seek help.
There she is in jail... so what do you think will happen the next time someone has a child with bad teeth?
 
Amraann said:
I do not know what child sees a dentist at 6 months old.
Christine there was NO dentist who would see a child under the age of 5.
Maybe down near Tampa.
Not Were I lived.
I will even concede that possibly a dentist would "look" at their teeth. But Any treatment for problems was not provided.

I want to add here that after that experience I had an absolute fit with my insurance company.
And my children all have lovely teeth.
There is more to this story.

Let me tell you something.... Richie has never been to a dentist and his pediatricians AGREE with me.
Because until a few years ago the only dentist in the state who would see an autistic child would NOT medicate them but strap them down and go to it.
Over my dead body would I permit that. The pediatrician, having seen his teeth agreed that it was cruel to permit that.
Now Miami's Dan Marino center has Dentists who will put him to sleep and treat him. The waiting list as you can imagine is months long. Richie has no pending issue so that is ok.
Also I want to know how the media got a copy of this childs supposed dental records???
Medical records of any kind are confidential.

I also want to add here... That the only teeth I ever had problems with were the ones the dentist said I needed filled.
They were filled when I was six...
Guess what?? By the time I was 18 every one had to be root canalled or pulled.
And I can tell of friends who had teeth root canalled and in later years had to have them re-done.

Look at this case...........She DID take him to the dentist!
We have yet to even address the socio-economic issues.
She took him.. obvioulsy trying to seek help.
There she is in jail... so what do you think will happen the next time someone has a child with bad teeth?
Click to expand...
Northampton County, Pa., children and youth services began investigating Resto in February when she took her son to a dental office in Salisbury Towsnhip, Pa.


That is where Prusack performed the surgery, saying the boy was in so much pain he could not eat.


"It is probably one of the worst cases," Prusack said.


Prusack was so concerned that he notified authorities, who said the boy had been complaining of headaches and pain in his mouth since the summer of 2005.


She took the kid to the dentist 6 months after he was complaining about being in pain. If she had made the attempt at dental care at least she could have helped to ease his pain. It clearly stated in the original story that she thought that once his baby teeth fell out that it would fix the problem. Never made any mention of her being denied dental care for age or economic reasons.
 
bakerprune64 said:
Northampton County, Pa., children and youth services began investigating Resto in February when she took her son to a dental office in Salisbury Towsnhip, Pa.


That is where Prusack performed the surgery, saying the boy was in so much pain he could not eat.


"It is probably one of the worst cases," Prusack said.


Prusack was so concerned that he notified authorities, who said the boy had been complaining of headaches and pain in his mouth since the summer of 2005.


She took the kid to the dentist 6 months after he was complaining about being in pain. If she had made the attempt at dental care at least she could have helped to ease his pain. It clearly stated in the original story that she thought that once his baby teeth fell out that it would fix the problem. Never made any mention of her being denied dental care for age or economic reasons.
Click to expand...
Its also the media slant and possibly not the entire truth.
ETA...
She took him to the dentist. I am still waiting to hear the full story.
It is over drama that he was in pain for 6 months IMO.
He would have cried daily.
 
My daughter took Emma to a dentist recently for her 2 year check. It was the only dentist she could find that treated children under five. When she got there they explained that my daughter would have to wait in the lobby and that Emma would be secured in a papoose for the exam. My daughter said no way and took Emma and left. Not a chance she was going to let some dentist she had never seen before take Emma into the exam room alone and harness her.
 
tybee204 said:
My daughter took Emma to a dentist recently for her 2 year check. It was the only dentist she could find that treated children under five. When she got there they explained that my daughter would have to wait in the lobby and that Emma would be secured in a papoose for the exam. My daughter said no way and took Emma and left. Not a chance she was going to let some dentist she had never seen before take Emma into the exam room alone and harness her.
Click to expand...

Exactly!! They want to take your child and harness them.. And leave the parent out of the room??
MY god we do not even let that happen to our pets.
And its not just me on this thread commenting on children not seen before age 5.

Its mostly common practice. So I have a hard time blaming this mother for it.
Maybe somewhere there is a dentist who would have treated her son.
Not everyone has 10 hours a day to fight and search especially when the Dr's or dentists or insurance co who should know have NO answers.
 
I have never heard wait until their five. I think all my daycare children have been to the dentist except the 1 year olds. I know both of the 3 year olds have been several times. Regardless of the age they say the child has to be seen if a child had nerves exposed and was in pain I can't think of one dentist that would turn the child away knowing the child was in pain. Heck, even a pediatrician would have seen the child and then referred the child to a dentist or pulled the teeth themselves. There is NO excuse to let a child go in pain like that. NONE! That is ABUSE! It's no different than broken bones, it hurts like heck and needs to be fixed. Like I said, maybe the dentists may not take a child under 5 for regular checkups or fillings but for the types of problems he had I can't see anyone turning him away once it was explained.
 
Amraann said:
Exactly!! They want to take your child and harness them.. And leave the parent out of the room??
MY god we do not even let that happen to our pets.
And its not just me on this thread commenting on children not seen before age 5.

Its mostly common practice. So I have a hard time blaming this mother for it.
Maybe somewhere there is a dentist who would have treated her son.
Not everyone has 10 hours a day to fight and search especially when the Dr's or dentists or insurance co who should know have NO answers.
Click to expand...
If your child was in horrible pain and you knew it you WOULD search for 24 hours straight if you had to to find someone to take the pain away.
 
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