No More Bad Teeth

If I were President of the United States, one of the first things on my agenda would be to ensure no one living in the U.S.A. had bad teeth.

I would argue primary healthcare is not enough, and that dental work should be covered in any plan, and that it is a national disgrace to have people walking about our country with teeth that are decaying.

This has become a personal pet peeve. Too many kids and adults have already lost teeth, or have teeth which (anyone can see) should be fixed. Since when are teeth less important than coverage for a bad cold, or brochitis, or a sprained ankle?

We have to eat food with our teeth, and we kiss, and we talk to others, and bad teeth stink and are unsightly. Why should we nod to coverage for hearing and seeing, but not teeth?

It really, really, bothers me. Good teeth and dental health have become a "privilege" which is garbage. In the U.S., I think everyone who lives here, resident or not, if they are at least working in this country or have a good reason not to work, should have full dental coverage except for teeth whitening and some cosmetic things. There is really no excuse for ROTTING teeth in America.

Met a guy from Serbia today. He entered the "lottery" in his country, to win admission to America, for 10 years in a row until they called his number. He was so happy to be here and grateful. "You American girl?" he said, and he was very handsome until he began to speak. Bad teeth. So bad, probably not getting any dates at all. Which is a shame. SO bad, and smelling so bad, he was probably not getting the right jobs either, working around others. He was almost finished with his medical degree in Serbia and showed me his exam results. He wants to work in any position in a hospital, just to have his foot in the door and instead he's washed dishes 16 hours at a time, and done janitorial work (Hands Solo). He's only been here 2 years.

Some Americans were born here. I thought about how he had applied to live in America for 10 years, with such persistence, and how no one can choose where they're born or what they're born into.

Homelessness is bad enough, but there ARE some shelters. Right? Some people prefer to sleep in the park?

Well what about BAD TEETH? No one has a choice in that. Not all of it is about flouride and brushing and there are dietary deficiencies and tooth anomolies, and the truth is, even people who brush get cavities. Instead of having those teeth PULLED, or left to rot, if they have a better social status or insurance, they get them fixed.

Maybe this wouldn't be the first thing on my agenda as President, actually, but if I could be Queen for a day, or President for a day, I would make a decree that no one in my country would have bad teeth. I wonder what England would think of that, for all the cracks about teeth from the States. But you know, crooked or whathaveyou is ONE thing, and rotting teeth is another thing entirely.

I would like to be able to say to the Serbian guy, "Did you know you will get full dental coverage now that you are here?" or see new immigrants walking around with great sets of new teeth and fixed teeth, and all their children taken care of. Even Canada doesn't have that. I think we should. Canada has "universal healthcare" which doesn't cover dental, and I saw plenty of bad teeth there as well. Who is making the rules about what's important anyway? Doctors and medical professionals with nice teeth? Ummm...Time to add some dentists to the Boards or Committees For Policies.