USA - Cuts in dental care painful for patients

Cuts in dental care painful for patients
Employment prospects, overall health threatened by lack of access
Ivory Hendry finally called the dentist.
An excruciating toothache made her do it.
She hadn’t eaten for a week, struggled to sleep and became ill when taking medicine on an empty stomach.
She had visited Providence Holy Family Hospital’s emergency room three times already, crying for relief, and each time she was offered a temporary dose of mercy: painkillers and antibiotics to treat the abscessed tooth, and a list of dentists who would treat someone like her – poor, jobless and desperate.
“People like me, are we just supposed to live with rotting teeth?” she asked. “I don’t get that. I’m not a number; I’m a human being who needs help.”
Perhaps, but these days Hendry is a statistic.
She is uninsured. She is a debt problem for local hospitals. And she is among the throngs in Spokane with teeth problems.............