Comment by nozzlegear
21 days ago
I think one thing you're not considering (especially when you say we should vote with our feet) is poverty. It’s true that fluoride toothpaste is widely available, but for people in poverty, of which there are millions in our country, basic hygiene items like toothpaste and a toothbrush aren’t guaranteed. Neither is it guaranteed that everyone has a perfect daily brushing habit like the dentist tells us; there are people who don't brush every day, or even every week.
You talked about dental care not being covered by public insurance — is it not worth considering that some basic level of dental care is already being applied to the country via fluoridation? It's a minimal, cost-effective way to prevent tooth decay at scale. Fluoridated water is one of the few dental protections available to everyone regardless of their income.
If you're not brushing your teeth, periodontitis will get you; the resulting bone decay will cause your teeth will fall out. But sure, great, the water was fluoridated, so I guess it's nice that those now-missing teeth are free of caries?
there are people who own a toothbrush but do not purchase toothpaste. money is not something everyone has and when you start having to choose between certain things, tough choices get made.
I really don't feel like you're interpreting my comment in good faith. Do you really think I was arguing that poor people literally never brush their teeth, and every single poor person in the country will eventually suffer from periodontitis? If you read my comment again, I'm sure you could find a way to engage in better faith.
I don't believe there's a single person in the USA that's so poor they can't pay $3 for toothpaste every 3 months. I also believe that having such a low personal hygiene where you don't brush your teeth altogether, even if you drink water with fluoride, will have terrible results anyway for your teeth anyway.
I'm completely sure that any people that don't brush their teeth is just because they are too lazy to even bother.
This trope of justifying everything with "but there are millions of poor people in the USA" is really tiresome.
It's not that they can't afford a $3 toothpaste, it is the environment they are in that makes it hard to prioritize things like this. It is the education and the overall life quality (or the lack there of) that causes this problem.
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Your argument essentially amounts to "why are poor people poor when they can just get a job." I can't find anything to say about it that isn't snarky.
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The number of Wal-Mart employees I know who can't get their managers to schedule them for the thirty hours a week required to be eligible for dental care far exceeds the number of Wal-Mart employees I know who can.