Re: American Dies From Toothache, Couldn't Afford Meds

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Toothache kills young poverty-stricken Cincinnati father

English.news.cn 2011-09-05 13:57:03. Editor: Deng Shasha

BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- A single unemployed father died from tooth

infection in Cincinnati last Tuesday because he could not afford treatment,

leaving behind a 6-year-old daughter, according to reports Monday.

Willis, a 24-years-old father, started having an ache in his wisdom tooth

two weeks before his death, according to NBC affiliate WLWT. Dentists told him

that it needed to be pulled, but he did not get it pulled because he was out of

job and had no health insurance.

Subsequently, the tooth infection spread to his brain, causing a headache. So he

went to an emergency room, where he got prescriptions for antibiotics and pain

medications, and he chose the latter because he could not afford antibiotics.

Treating the tooth infection with antibiotic would have cost 27 dollars, whereas

the pain medication cost 3 dollars, according to reports. At last, he died from

the brain infection developed by the toothache.

" 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. "

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/health/2011-09/05/c_131097708.htm