PRISONER DENTAL HEALTH
Most prisoners, especially those who have a history of abusing specific types of drugs, have atrocious dental hygiene - so bad in fact that it is potentially deadly. Unfortunately, there are limited avenues or opportunities to correct this while in IDOC prisons.
While most people resist seeing a dentist, inside or out, prisoners at ISCC (and other IDOC prison facilities) must first submit an HSR or Health Services Request (with the mandatory signature line authorizing a charge to your account for a co-pay as authorized by the IDOC) with the contract medical provider Corizon Health, Inc. out of Tennessee. Once the HSR is submitted, the prisoner, usually within 24 hours, will be called to the facility medical department to be evaluated by some sort of medical assistant. Looking into one's mouth and observing that there is an infection, broken tooth or other malady is generally the norm, with the possible obligatory "ooh's and ahh's" associated therewith.
Once triaged, the medical assistant will generally give a prisoner ibuprofen and schedule them to see the dental folks - telling the prisoner to "watch the call-out", a daily list printed showing the names of those with various medical appointments. These appointments are generally no less than a month away, with some appointments extending 2 to 4 months into the future, with no treatment or relief from pain, and the damage being done to the body left untreated.
In most instances, prisoners have an alternative in their dental care... either leave it untreated, or pull the tooth. Root canals, caps, even fillings are refused on a regular basis. IDOC will provide dentures, but these dentures, partials or full sets, will be provided to the prisoner only after having gone 6 months since the extractions.
In a positive note, prisoners are now able to visit the dental hygienist for routine teeth cleaning (or, for some prisoners - tooth cleaning). For more than a decade at the IMSI facility, I was denied such cleanings, and was forced to clean my own teeth with broken tweezers and fingernail clippers due to my "status" (HINT: don't do that).
Upon arriving at ISCC, all that changed - for the better - with a hygienist that schedules appointments realistically (you're scheduled for 9 am, you'll be in her chair no later than 9:20 or so) - unlike the regular dentist appointments where prisoners sit up to 6 hours on steel benches in a small waiting area crammed with hoards of other sick and ailing prisoners waiting for their names to be called.
Commissary now sells name-brand toothpastes which aid in oral hygiene, but at outrageous prices. Now that small electric motors are allowed in facilities in other devices, there is no reason that electric tooth brushes could not be sold to prisoners. If you believe the dentists, these electric brushes are considerably better at cleaning teeth and gums than a standard toothbrush. Further, because IDOC does not allow commissary to sell dental floss (other than those flossing dental picks which dentists and hygienists tell me are insufficient - and that using sewing thread would be a better alternative), the water-jet flossing sets (Water-Pik?) would be a wonderful alternative.
Going beyond the Dragon-Breath issue, prisoners who have and maintain good dental hygiene will be in overall better health, have better prospects for jobs and will have a better disposition than those who don't. Bone loss, tooth decay and other factors associated with bad teeth can cause sepsis, heart disease and other maladies which are unnecessary in the modern world.
While most people resist seeing a dentist, inside or out, prisoners at ISCC (and other IDOC prison facilities) must first submit an HSR or Health Services Request (with the mandatory signature line authorizing a charge to your account for a co-pay as authorized by the IDOC) with the contract medical provider Corizon Health, Inc. out of Tennessee. Once the HSR is submitted, the prisoner, usually within 24 hours, will be called to the facility medical department to be evaluated by some sort of medical assistant. Looking into one's mouth and observing that there is an infection, broken tooth or other malady is generally the norm, with the possible obligatory "ooh's and ahh's" associated therewith.
Once triaged, the medical assistant will generally give a prisoner ibuprofen and schedule them to see the dental folks - telling the prisoner to "watch the call-out", a daily list printed showing the names of those with various medical appointments. These appointments are generally no less than a month away, with some appointments extending 2 to 4 months into the future, with no treatment or relief from pain, and the damage being done to the body left untreated.
In most instances, prisoners have an alternative in their dental care... either leave it untreated, or pull the tooth. Root canals, caps, even fillings are refused on a regular basis. IDOC will provide dentures, but these dentures, partials or full sets, will be provided to the prisoner only after having gone 6 months since the extractions.
In a positive note, prisoners are now able to visit the dental hygienist for routine teeth cleaning (or, for some prisoners - tooth cleaning). For more than a decade at the IMSI facility, I was denied such cleanings, and was forced to clean my own teeth with broken tweezers and fingernail clippers due to my "status" (HINT: don't do that).
Upon arriving at ISCC, all that changed - for the better - with a hygienist that schedules appointments realistically (you're scheduled for 9 am, you'll be in her chair no later than 9:20 or so) - unlike the regular dentist appointments where prisoners sit up to 6 hours on steel benches in a small waiting area crammed with hoards of other sick and ailing prisoners waiting for their names to be called.
Commissary now sells name-brand toothpastes which aid in oral hygiene, but at outrageous prices. Now that small electric motors are allowed in facilities in other devices, there is no reason that electric tooth brushes could not be sold to prisoners. If you believe the dentists, these electric brushes are considerably better at cleaning teeth and gums than a standard toothbrush. Further, because IDOC does not allow commissary to sell dental floss (other than those flossing dental picks which dentists and hygienists tell me are insufficient - and that using sewing thread would be a better alternative), the water-jet flossing sets (Water-Pik?) would be a wonderful alternative.
Going beyond the Dragon-Breath issue, prisoners who have and maintain good dental hygiene will be in overall better health, have better prospects for jobs and will have a better disposition than those who don't. Bone loss, tooth decay and other factors associated with bad teeth can cause sepsis, heart disease and other maladies which are unnecessary in the modern world.