Tuesday June 21, 2011
I just got an appointment with the institutional dentist on Friday June 17, 2011 at 8:45AM. I showed up half an hour early because I know that 9 other guys were scheduled for the same time, which usually means, first come, first served. I was indeed first served. However, the served part left much to be desired.
After explaining that I had intermittent pain in my top right incisor (the #8 tooth) which was exacerbated by cold and pressure, the lovely, polite dental assistant took an x-ray and then the dentist asked me to wait outside while he helped others. I waited for awhile and then I was asked to come back into the dental exame room whereupon the dental assistant explained to me that she needed to take another x-ray. Ever so complinat I sat back down in the nice, comfy dental chair while the dental assistant took another x-ray and then I was sent back outside to wait some more. After waiting for yet some more unspecified time, I was asked yet again to return to the dental room, whereupon the dental assistant explained to me that she neede to take yet another x-ray. Once again, I sat back in the nice, comfy dental chair and went back outside yet again for more waiting after she took the third x-ray.
Finally, I was summoned back inside the dental room for a fourth, and what would indeed be, the last time. The dentist, a rather youngish gent not too far removed from dental school, was quick to explain that he couldn't see anything wrong with the tooth in question but admitted that something indeed was amiss because of the pain I was experiencing. He went on to mention that there may be a fracture high in the root of the tooth and / or that the tooth in question may be infected. After asking what my options were, he said that in this situation the general options were to leave it alone, do a root canal or extract it. Just as I was about to tell him to go ahead and do the root canal, he adds that "root canals are not done here". Seriously?! So, somewhat frustrated now, I told him that I didn't feel like having a tooth pulled when the pain was not constant nor severe and he said that if it was his tooth, he would keep it. I asked him since he mentioned that the tooth might be infected if I could get something for the infection to which he replied, "No." I then asked about getting a periodontal scaling done and a prophylaxis and the dental assistant replied that she just got the machine back and hadn't set it up yet but that I would definitely be added to the list, which she made sure to mention as being very long. At that point, I left and as it was now 10:45 AM, I went straight to lunch to eat my griddle friend bologna sandwich.
To sum up the foregoing, I spent $8 (the dental co-pay) and 2 1/2 hours of my Friday taking 3 x-rays and ultimately having nothing done and being no more pain-free than I was weeks ago. To add insult to injury, I haven't had a prophylaxis (that's the technical term for a tooth cleaning) in at least 3 years and in truth, I cannot remember the last time I had one or even if I have had one since I have been in prison. Perhaps I'm mistaken but I seem to remember that the American Dental Association tells us on a regular basis that in order to maintain proper dental hygiene, a person should see his/her dentist every 6 months for a checkup and a tooth cleaning. So, either the ADA is lying to the populace to drum up business for the dental industry, or the Nevada Department of Corrections is grossly, woefully remiss in providing proper dental care to its inmates. I tend to believe in the latter.
I know that there are people out there who think that inmates should have the worst of everything pssible, or even no, health and dental care. To those people I would say this" Every disadvantage suffered by an inmate incurs a corresponding cost for that inmate to fix once (s)he is released from incarceration. As the costs and the debts suffered by an individual inmate mount, it becomes harder and harder for him or her to do things the right way for the simple reason that there simply isn't enough money for the inmate to live decently and fix all the disadvantages suffered during incarceration and everybody has a breaking point. When that breaking point is reached, more often than not, criminal behavior ensues, especailly when the criminals are drug and property offenders. Wouldn't it make more sense from a publlic policy standpoint to give inmates every possible opportunity to be law-abiding citisens instead of burdening them with mounting debt and other penalties which carry over long after their sentences have been served? Having decent medical and dental care is a part of that, because having to fixd all of the problems which were potentially ignored in prison is a very expensive proposition, costing in the thousands of even tens of thousands for ex-felons who have no medical or dentla insurance and lets face it, inmates are not exactly going to be frequent hires for jobs that provide medical and dentla benefits.
I read in a handy reentry pocket guide for ex-offenders that ex-offenders disproportionately exhibit four types of health issues: chronic diseases like asthma, diabetes and the like; infectious diseases, such a tuberculosis, hepatitis, and the like; mental illness like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and that ilk; and substance abuse issues such as alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Proper treatment for all fot eh foregoing is a huge financial burden on somebody who doesn't have (adequate) health insurance, and I doubt that many inmates are going to walk into $60,000+ per year jobs; if they did, then they'd have adequate health insurance needed to take care of the years of accumulated neglect arising from incarceration.
I can also be pretty damn sure that even fewer inmates are going to walk into $60,000+ per year jobs with fucked-up grills. I daresay that a person's smile makes a memorable impact on a potential employer. Well done Nevada. Thanks for making it even harder for an inmate to walk the right path after getting back out into the world.
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