There but for the grace of God

[sigma7]

Friday: Authorities say a 6-year-old boy who collapsed on a Harrison County school bus died from an abscess where two teeth had been removed from his lower jaw.

Coroner Gary Hargrove says Alexander "Alex" Callender went into shock from the infection and his body shut down. Callender collapsed on the bus after leaving Lizana Elementary School Thursday.

Saturday: The death of a Prince George's County boy this week from an infection that started with an abscessed tooth has spurred lawmakers to demand better dental care for poor children and has prompted a deluge of calls to local dentists for advice and appointments.

Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old homeless child, died Sunday in a District hospital after an infection from a molar spread to his brain.

Seriously, what the hell, America? When did we become the lesser-developed country? How is this at all acceptable?

(And sorry to be so depressing today. I'm not even bringing up BSG until tomorrow.)

Comments

[iamstillthemoon.livejournal.com]

Ohmigosh. Please don't post stuff like this again. I'm already scared enough about getting my wisdom teeth taken out. This scares me.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Sorry about that. But believe me, faced between redoing the wisdom teeth and an abscess, I'd have my wisdom teeth redone three times. You'll be fine with the wisdom teeth.

[iamstillthemoon.livejournal.com]

If you say so...

[aardy.livejournal.com]

I had mine out a few years back and while it's nothing to sniff at, it's also nothing to worry about--unless your surgeon is the dentist from Little Shop of Horrors.

[taelech.livejournal.com]

TRUE THAT! I had my wisdom teeth out a decade ago and remember very little about it, no biggie. I had a tooth abscess on me last July... I will never forget that experience. Horrible pain, 106 degree temps and a trip to the emergency room where I had to say "Look the tooth is infected, it has spread to the jaw and if you don't do something it will go to my mandibular nerve straight up cranial nerve IV and into my brain, give me powerful drugs." that finally got me to see a doctor.