👎 This kind of thing sucks. Especially from "progressives." Dental health is a nightmare everywhere in this country and does not correspond to political values.
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
There are a lot of people who don't go to the doctor because they can't afford it. Even when they are seriously ill. I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised that people also can't afford to go to the dentist!
This country absolutely does not abide symbols of poverty. I’m missing three teeth because my adhd makes healthcare not only unaffordable, but a bureaucratic nightmare i usually can’t navigate.
My teeth are all fucked up because even when healthcare was nationalised here, that wasn't, and it isn't cheap.
Also, I feel in the US dentists/hygienists, one of the premiere Small Business Tyrant occupations, are mostly republicans and more likely to be in the tank for the country club guy.
I'll add to that: everyone should block Alex Cole on principle. He isn't any kind of progressive. He's just an engagement farmer who changes what he's posting to catch the current wave.
Some on our team need to learn that body-shaming, ableism, "LOL look DJT & Putin are gay!/trans!/not REAL men!", & other playground bully classics hurt our supposed allies more than the intended targets. https://the-orbit.net/greta/2016/06/07/splash-damage/
plenty of folks have a ton of dental issues because if we were lucky enough to have insurance, it sure as hell didn’t cover dental. doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, but if you have Crap Tooth Genetics like me you better have some money
FFS I have great dental hygiene and still have lost so many teeth. Sometimes people are just born with bad teeth. Sometimes medications cause bad teeth that's a horrible judge for people's character.
My dentist literally told me not to eat almonds on that side after she found cracks in two of my molars (and I had to wait until my new dental insurance kicked in if I wanted even PART of the crowns covered)
I have the best dental insurance money can buy and I'd have to go into a lot of debt to pay for the work I need done. Guess I'll just live the rest of my life without smiling, nbd.
I had to take out a loan for an emergency extraction (I had an infection that was going to eventually close up my throat lol) and yeah uh it the terms of that loan should not be legal.
Fuckin seriously anyone lucky enough to grow up w good dental care and still have a solid dental plan should be demanding it for everyone not shitting on everyone else
It's a class marker in a terrible way. Any of us can ask ourselves if we would have had our success if we walked into our first job interviews with multiple missing teeth.
Relatively easy to do an economic study of this if it hasn't been done before. Probably has.
Absolutely bullshit and not the route to take when healthcare in the country does not include teeth and eyes. Like two incredibly vital parts of health. But sure.
There are areas here in Appalachia where people drive hours to go to free weekend dental clinics because they barely make too much for Medicaid, no dental at work and no money for a root canal. It's hard and it sucks.
This is an old-fashioned anti-welfare smear because Medicaid didn’t (and still doesn’t for most people) cover dental care. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the smear, in one form or another, for at least 50 years. It’s awful.
My dentist friend has been asking for years how is it insurance companies aren’t required to at the very least pay for basic dental maintenance and mandatory procedures. I don’t have an answer. Insurers pretend like it’s not real medical care.
This is gross. I am missing 2nd molar, top right. If I laugh loudly enough--& in my unconscious mission to piss off controlling men everywhere, I've done that my entire life--the gap is visible. I never got an implant bc I've consistently shunted that aside for more pressing $ needs.
Cracked 20 y ago bc of old filling from when I was 13. Nonurgent dental care always comes last. When crack hit root, it was pulled.
Staring down another cracked molar right now. Can't afford crown, much less effective but not-covered-by-insurance biofiller, so that 1 will prob eventually go, too.
There's not much that's worse than dental problems. I have some of the best dental insurance you can get, and it's only good for two free cleanings and $1000 a year.
We have TWO dental insurances and still, to get the crown is more than I can pay, and the biomaterial -- which is much less invasive and painful -- is not even covered at all.
It’s fuckin crazy because I’m sitting there with my daughter’s cardiology team, listening to them tell me that dental healthcare will be extremely important for her throughout her life. But our “universal healthcare” doesn’t include dental for her. 👍
And on the other side, you can develop a condition extremely detrimental to dental care/issues - as I did, with cyclic vomiting syndrome - and get stuck with dental bills for things that are not even going to be permanent because, hi, CVS.
Dental Insurance has gotten WORSE in the last 10 years.
10 years ago, my (now ex) wife and I both had dental insurance. Covered about 5 grand of the cost of my dentures. Nowadays, to cover that much I would need 4 or 5 different plans.
I just got quoted $700 for a crown for a cracked molar (after our “good” insurance was applied). But I’m in Canada. Idk if it’s reassuring to know that other countries also make dental health a privilege. 🙃
Yep. In Britain, dental care used to be treated as any other medical need in the NHS & I got some beautiful crowns from them in the 80s, but one of the first things the Tories did when they started chipping away at the NHS was to put dental care apart & charge fees.
I remember talking with some UK businessmen in a hotel in London in 1984 (they were on their way to the LA Olympics) and they told me that braces there were free and I just about died.
I had quite a bit of work done on my teeth in England in 85-86 and every American dentist I ever had after that complimented the "beautiful work" done on those crowns. All at no cost to me, even though I was American.
I'm missing bottom back tooth, had it pulled in college when I didn't have insurance that covered it and my choice was several thousand dollars to address a root canal issue or 50 buck and the actual dentist I was talking to showed me the pliers he would use to remove it.
Thank you. I was uncomfortable with all of the physical characteristics in that ad, the fatness, sweatiness, bad teeth. I get that it has immediate resonance with the viewer but I’d rather not demonize folks based on their appearance.
Yup. I've got two teeth gone on my upper left. Will get implants soon. I'm lucky I can afford them (though the bill really hurts). Don't make fun of someone's pain and potential for lasting ill health.
Yup. I have dental insurance--but it has an annual cap that is well short of the cost of 1 extraction+implant. I need 2. I need other work too. If someone, like me, has lost the dental genetic lottery, the money required to maintain oral health is staggering.
My implants were a three tooth one piece bridge thing . For the low price of 20,00 + I have constant pain and discomfort. So miserable. I wanted a removable bridge but no one would make me one . The implant is hell. I hate it sooo much
Blew out a molar, dentist put in a bad implant, then declared bankruptcy and disappeared while I was at sea. Now I have half a titanium spike in my jaw.
omg this whole thread makes me feel better about my own front tooth gap. (Misery loves company?) When originally planning, I joked an implant would be my most $$$ possession 😬
I love my current dentist! It’s just been a confluence of jaw issues, now can’t do an implant & all the options are ☹️.
It’s almost like you have to have the kind of job that gives you time off and pays well enough to allow for travel etc in order to attend *any* candidate’s midweek/midday election rally
seriously. when i was still a local tv news producer, we'd cover the annual health & dental clinic Seattle/King Co public health put on -- as you'd guess, the line was very, very long and sooooo much of it was for basic dental work people could not afford otherwise
I am always leery abt making fun of people's physical appearance or attributing them to a class of people
such matters cross all political lines and if you have to say to someone on your own side who shares those same attributes "but of course, not *you*", it's a clue to avoid doing it to anyone
i am in a Blue State (Oregon), poor and on medicaid. and if i need a root canal or a crown i'm still on my own unless i am pregnant. only pregnant people deserve teeth according to some of the least-worst, most "generous" Poor People Healthcare Coverage in this country
yeahhhh. it's just so weird for them to tacitly admit that letting dental issues mess up a fetus is bad, and then shrug away the scenario where other people end up with dangerous infections trying to avoid losing teeth. buuuut the whole industry would collapse if it were that considerate lmao
same problem as giving people time off for covid i guess. uh oh if we think about this too hard we might have to give people time off for other illnesses 😬
When I was a kid, my parents’ rule was that I could only stay home from school if I had a fever or was vomiting. I was pretty surprised when I joined the workforce to find out that was actually a pretty generous policy for adults…
braces destroyed my enamel so i get more cavities than the average person even if i'm diligent. so basically i will lose teeth, soon, it's getting to that point, and yeah. it's so frustrating to watch dems be smug in this way. it's like. oh i see. your values are only so important to you huh lol
My WA Medicaid dentist told me the prognosis on my issue is "hopeless" and all I can do to keep my teeth is try not to use those teeth if I can avoid it. You know, because of all those extra teeth I have elsewhere because I'm a shark.
Good teeth is yet another example of being born on third base. Yes it’s great that you brush and floss, you’re such a good brusher and flosser, we’re all very impressed, but what if I told you there are people who brush and floss and still get cavities?
Comments
Also, I feel in the US dentists/hygienists, one of the premiere Small Business Tyrant occupations, are mostly republicans and more likely to be in the tank for the country club guy.
https://the-orbit.net/greta/2016/06/07/splash-damage/
https://the-orbit.net/splainyouathing/2015/06/14/ableism-challenge/
https://the-orbit.net/scrappy/2016/03/14/criticizing-caitlyn-jenner-without-being-terrible/
Signed, a guy who lost part of a prominent tooth eating a fucking almond.
I am going to be paying for it for years.
Crazy stuff happens sometimes.
Relatively easy to do an economic study of this if it hasn't been done before. Probably has.
Luke this is so rare. Like a unicorn mounted on a Ford Fiesta.
/s
Even with the best dental insurance, care for our luxury bones is out of most people's reach these days.
Awful and infuriating 🤬🤬🤬
🙄🙄🙄
Stupid autocorrect
Don't make fun of people with disabilities, what the everfuck is wrong with some of you
Staring down another cracked molar right now. Can't afford crown, much less effective but not-covered-by-insurance biofiller, so that 1 will prob eventually go, too.
It's a not great situation overall.
10 years ago, my (now ex) wife and I both had dental insurance. Covered about 5 grand of the cost of my dentures. Nowadays, to cover that much I would need 4 or 5 different plans.
Had no choice.
My current dentist is a cool dude.
I love my current dentist! It’s just been a confluence of jaw issues, now can’t do an implant & all the options are ☹️.
So sorry.
I've been with the same practice since 1985, so I have a certain amount of accumulated trust in them. Fingers x'd.
Or something
If only your poor family didn't have to do this.
such matters cross all political lines and if you have to say to someone on your own side who shares those same attributes "but of course, not *you*", it's a clue to avoid doing it to anyone
Hence the observation, too many tattoos and not enough teeth.
Very little to do with dental care.
Consider they value the intimidation value of that appearence as well. A clear signal not to be messed with.