The teeth of the poor are still sacrificed
Now that the Greens' election hopes and dreams have been somewhat disappointed, are some of their excellent policies going to wither on the vine?
A lot of people were hoping that the Greens would be able to nudge the government in the right direction regarding some common sense reforms that can't come soon enough.
One of these which has become an overriding concern for me is the inclusion of dental treatment into Medicare.
A few weeks ago my dentist identified the terrible pain in my tooth as caused by an abcess, and referred me to an endodontist in Gosford.
The latter would not start work without $5000 up front.
Even though I have extras insurance it is limited to $1000 annually.
My attempts to borrow money have been unsuccessful.
Banks don't like lending to old age pensioners.
Public dentistry?
The Sydney Dental Hospital said to try the dental hospital in Gosford, who said it would be weeks before I could hope for the chance of being put on their waiting list.
And even so they were not sure if they would have an endodontist on their payroll.
This all makes me wonder why we never talk about this egregious situation.
Is it because the people who can't put their hands on $5000 don't write letters to newspapers? Because they don't complain?
I can't help thinking about the 19th century fairground tooth pullers who paid desperate people for their teeth.
No, it's not the same thing at all.
Except that in modern day Australia poor people's teeth still get sacrificed.
SOURCE:
Email, 17 May 2025
Jane Hendy, Blackwall