The facts quoted here and the anecdotal experience of this tragedy serve as an indictment against Medicaid and Federal funding for health.

Very nice treatment of a complex issue. We can see from the situation explained here that the problem is not as cut and dry as providing health care, but also involves proper health awareness education, especially for young people. It's tragic that the story ended this way. But it does beg the question: how can one's teeth become so infected in the beginning? I wish that the article would have addressed this more directly.

While it is basically a very good story about a very complex problem, a couple of the really basic issues are addressed only at the end - problems of medicaid bureaucracy and problems of adequate dentist reimbursement. Most jurisdictions try to save money by curring back on medicaid; few publications focus on the results of this.

Extremely important, sad story. This should NEVER happen in a country the Republicans have taken to self-congratulatorily calling a "hyperpower." More emphasis on just how wide-spread this is would have been useful -- I personally know several hard-working American parents with uninsured children, and though my own mother worked full-time, we didn't have dental insurance for most of my childhood.