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In Communities Hard Hit By The COVID-19 Recession, A Dental Emergency Can Hurt Especially Bad -- In The Wallet
(Photo illustration by Chava Sanchez/LAist)
With coronavirus raging through Southeast Los Angeles, the last place I wanted to be this week was in a dental chair in a Cudahy strip mall, with my mouth uncovered and wide open.
But that's where I was Tuesday. It couldn't be helped. I was in agony the entire weekend with a bad toothache so when Monday rolled around, I knew I needed medical attention. My dental adventure led me to three different dentists in two days and cost me close to $2,000 -- even after I found my dental insurance card.
The experience also led me down a rabbit hole into our dental health system, where I discovered that Black and Latino people are more likely to have dental health issues primarily due to a lack of information and access to preventive oral care.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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