My teeth could kill me

Dear Editor,

I’ve experienced avalanches, tornadoes, earthquakes, high-voltage shocks and aggressive toxins. And always gotten through. Usually shaken but escaping being stirred into nothingness. Ribs, arms, fingers, legs, back, neck — I’ve broken them all. And while not fun, none of them were dead ends. The hassle and patience of healing was always just a hiccup in my adventures. 

Twenty-five years ago, while training for an extreme skiing competition in Crested Butte, Colorado, I broke my back and neck. “Just” hairline fractures, though my brain was knocked around a bit. As I was getting carted off to the hospital, all I could think was, “At least I didn’t blow a knee,” a common career-ender for alpine professionals. Back then, I was not thinking, “At least I didn’t break a tooth.”

I should have been. My body withstood remarkable abuse for decades. But my teeth are possibly what will kill me. 

Bad teeth are not just a cosmetic issue. An infection could give me mortal sepsis. And my only access to dental care is the emergency room. 

Modern health coverage considers teeth essentially disconnected from the rest of the body. And here is how extreme it has gotten: A concussion triggered seizures that resulted in falls that broke teeth. Many tens of thousands of dollars have been spent to fix up my entire body — except the teeth I broke.

I cannot get dental coverage, or come close to being able to afford it out of pocket. I’ve looked carefully for a solution — from free clinics and dental school programs to Medicare and private insurance — but my only options are luck, care, home remedies and the emergency room. If an infection starts to push me into mortal danger? Then health insurance will, hopefully, save my life. But all this will do is treat the symptoms and reset the clock for a new emergency. Such duct-taping of underlying problems is costing us all a lot of money. Much more than if we simply recognized that teeth, like bones, are simply part of our body.

You could be in full-body traction, perhaps from doing something moronic like driving drunk, or tumbling down an avalanche chute. But having bad teeth, even from an accident outside your control? That will create more social barriers and earn more scorn than a body cast. And I’ve been brainwashed by our culture just as much as anyone else: The shame of showing my mouth in public outweighs the pain of simply being alone. 

I hope that a wave of rationality is coming and that we build a structure where we can thrive and help each other stay healthy. A framework of compassion over profit. 

Meanwhile, I count myself lucky. Unlike others in an even worse position, I have food, water and warmth. I also have Tylenol, tooth drops, good books and hope. I know that problems with my teeth are minuscule compared with the health brutality many people are experiencing. I still believe that we, America, are going to reprioritize things and figure these issues out together.

Todd Murchison

Brattleboro, Vt.

Read the story on VTDigger here: My teeth could kill me.