Dental care can be a matter of life or death. Yet millions of Americans either don’t have dental insurance or simply can’t afford to see a dentist. The result? Severe pain, preventable disease, humiliation, bankruptcy and sometimes even death. (Aired 2012)
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In a 2012 joint investigation by FRONTLINE and the Center for Public Integrity, correspondent Miles O’Brien uncovers the shocking consequences of a broken dental care system. Poor children, entitled by law to dental care, often cannot find a dentist willing to see them. Others kids receive excessive care billed to Medicaid, or major surgery for preventable tooth infections. For adults with dental disease, the situation can be just as dire and bankrupting. While millions of Americans use emergency rooms for dental care, corporate dental chains are filling the gaps in care, and in some cases have allegedly overcharged patients or loaded them with high priced credit card debt.
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This why I always wanted to be a dentist since the age of four. I plan to change this soon when I finish dental school I will do pro bono smiles. I’m already a dental practitioner that wishes I can do more but my goodness something has got to change 😢. People shouldn’t have to suffer like this
What PBS is trying to push is full government healthcare. Sorry but I like choices. Public, Private, or Corporate.
Well you are not going to have perfect service at all places. Its not going to happen.
She is not being totally honest.
People may want to see what dental schools offer in their area – discounted dentistry.
Universal health care for your whole body is needed.
Corporate greed
Cowboy private equity at it again. Too much capital, nothing useful for it to do.
yes we really need to actually brush our teeth
Crowns on kids teeth is nearly criminal and the parents are negligent. In fact kids can be removed permanently for medical and dental neglect.,
The sole fact these for profit model of denial care needs to be investigated as a predatory practice aimed at the the disadvantaged children in our nation.
Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners have severed their patients in areas like General medical or complicated medical disciplines like spinal surgery or prenatal care:
As matter of fact I ditched my general practitioner (MD) for a female nurse practitioner whom I trust more then any medical doctor that I’ve ever had.
I think that the approach of encouraging alternatives such as dental therapists are an apt solutions to an epidemic that is spreading access all deciplens of the medical profession.
Dentists are the used car salesmen of the healthcare industry.
Always go to a “mom and pop†dental office if you can find one.
Get gold teeth , real gold , I have seen that . On adults .
The rooms do not look private , looks like an open hair salon .
Texas , sure .
Dental assistant , physician assistant ,
People like cosmetics .
Stay away from Florida .
Cheap false teeth at age 31 that is unusual .
Cheap false teeth at age 31 that is unusual .
Everything is a crisis , health fair , people run from these places .
THAT IS B U L L S H I T AND 'THEY' KNOW IT.. HE'S NOT A DENTIST.. NO SHIT, AND NEITHER ARE YOUR VENTURE CAPITALIST- BUSINESS MEN..!
BUT HEY, IT'S OK TO FLEECE THE PUBLIC AND CALL FOUL WHEN A BUSINESS MAN WANTS TO GIVE APPROPRIATE, AFFORDABLE CARE TO PATIENTS..
But then they call themselves "the best country in the world".
Dentists are some of the most dishonest people I know. I am a dental hygienist for 25 years and have seen it first hand!
Dentistry is the wild wild west of government regulation. Ask Cecil the African Lion.
Americans are the only people on the planet that don't need teeth, according to the US National Republican Party.
Doctors, dentists, corporations, social media, billionaires and every business now known and unknown are all proxies in the US government's war against its people to squeeze every dime of productivity out of them for the war machine and the military-industrial complex.
Pull out all the teeth at birth and save the taxpayer. Money is badly needed to bomb Venezuela.
Not even Cecil the Lion can get moderately priced dental care.
The US is a farce.
Dentists had to up their campaign contributions to thwart any action resulting from the lies in this Frontline video. Keep private enterprise private!
So 13 yrs later, still no improvement and dentist are learning to screw patients who have insurance. They submit bills for services not provided or services not provided yet. I had work done for one thing and he charged for three things I didn't have done at all. I went to get a molar pulled. Some how directed me fo root canal on different tooth that already had been filled just months earlier. He used all my $2000 dollar benefit and still did not get molar pulled. (This was being written for the adult dentistry documentary)
This documentary is ridiculous. As a dentist I understand that people need dental care. However, how is it expected of us to pay these astronomical tuitions 500k-700k and see patients at Medicaid prices? We spend all our young years in school while most of these people are partying and on drugs and that is how they end up like this. Why are we the ones to pay these astronomical tuitions and treat patients for free? This is ridiculous. How are we going to survive after going through 8 years plus of schooling after high school. What about us? Who helps us not to default on our mortgage or student loan. We can not be the ones getting crushed.
All these programs that i've watched recently regarding poverty.People that are homeless and everything else all goes back to people having kids that they're not able to take care of I just don't understand why that is allowed to happen. It's really unfortunate for those kids that are born to families with no means of taking care of them.And why should the government have to take care of you for everything
Well, according to the governor of florida, that's the best date for everything.I guess it doesn't include people
Where is trinity's mother.
How can so many people have such bad teeth?At this age, what was happening before they got here
Doing proper dentistry/periodontistry is a lot of work.. highly skilled work. You cannot have a society that encourages poor lifestyle at every turn.. suggesting that you won't be affected by it.. and then have skilled technicians doing work for free or cheap burdoned with the task of restoring a highly neglected person's health. Acting like dentistry is no big deal.. like you can fix major problems in a 1 hour visit.. you can't. It's not possible. You'll need like 10 visits.. who's going to pay for that? So the dentists end up doing the bare minimum because that's all they're really getting paid for.
It's like having a car & not doing maintenance on it for years. Then the engine seizes and you want the mechanic to rebuild your motor for cheap because you deserve to have a car- no.. you didn't take care of your car and now you no longer have one. Pretty simple.
Here in Germany, in 2025 the situation is now the same.
Either you're in debt for the rest of your life or you suffer unbearable pain with various chronic illnesses.
SCAM… DENTISTRY AND OPTICAL insurance is just scams. It should be part of health care like ears and heart and feet! Teeth and eyes are necessary part of our HEALTH!!! This issue need to be dealt with at Congress and Senate level. Lobbiest should be banned in ALL LAW MAKER OFFICES!
Terrible situation in this country. There really should be some policing from our government of these crooks.
The fact that America is letting its citizens go without TEETH is INSANE!!!
It starts with the school's. Dentists probably won't pay off their loans for 20-30years.
There is a solution…Just nobody wants to give up greed…