The Status of Dental Care for Prisoners and Ex-Offenders
Creators: name: Cook, Linda Shealey
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2007

description: A report issued February 14, 2007 from the Pew Charitable Trusts makes a sobering statement: by 2011 one in every 178 U.S. citizens will be in prison. The report goes on to state that it will cost $27.5 billion in spending (mostly in construction costs) over the next five years to house these inmates. (Public Trust, Public Spending: Forecasting America's Prison Population 2007-2011, 2007). The increase is attributed to mandatory minimum prison sentences, reduced parole rates, and increase in recidivism. In a mid-year assessment (June 2005), the Bureau of Justices Statistics Prison Statistics reported the total number of persons incarcerated in state and Federal prisons (two thirds) or local jails (one third) as 2,186,230, an increase of 2.6% from 2004 (Justice, 2007). Among males in their late 20s, nearly 12% of African American males were incarcerated, along with 3.9% of Hispanic males and 1.7% of White males. The incarceration rate of men rose 1.9%. Many of these men come into prison with existing health issues, including dental problems. It is estimated that 46 million Americans under the age of 65 lacked health insurance in 2005. Many of these Americans are middle income, most are the working poor. Some of these Americans are ex-offenders, attempting to get their lives back as honest tax-paying citizens. Yet there are several barriers: lack of housing, employment, insurance, drug addiction and inability to get treatment are just a few. For most, prison or jail is not a permanent horne and every day thousands of inmates are released back into society Since limited data exists on health care specifically for this group, for the purpose of this paper, statistical data and research regarding low-income communities will be referenced as research for this population. Oral health is a significant factor in general health but everyone does not have the same access to health care, specifically dental care. Many people do not have access to dental care, attributed to barriers such as socio-economic status and transportation. Low income communities of color have limited access to health and oral care. Good oral care serves as the basic building blocks for good general health and impacts so many determinants of quality of life - including self esteem and the likelihood of finding or maintaining a job. Poor oral health can lead to tooth decay and gum disease which impacts the ability to eat and process nutrients. In rare instances, the lack of appropriate and timely treatment can lead to death, as in the case of a Maryland twelve year old who died as a result of bacteria from an abscess tooth (Otto, 2007). Poor health impacts school, work, family, and sometimes life itselfThis cycle of poor oral health is common - limited access to oral care prior to incarceration, with inmates reporting to jail or prison with dental cavities, missing teeth, or gum disease. This can lead to overall poor health status of inmates and contributes to health and economic problems for ex-offenders. The monetary and human costs of treating inmates' health problems are enormous. For example, the state of California spends more than $1.1 billion a year on prison health care (Stemgold, 2005). Preventable diseases and health ailments such as chronic mouth pain and diseases such as diabetes are further complicated due to inadequate dental care. The purpose of this study is to examine oral health care for prisoners and ex-offenders. This study will: • examine access to dental care relative to need as defined by oral health status • determine policy options to expand oral health care for prisoners and exoffenders • develop policy recommendations to assure that there is appropriate access to oral health care by prisoners and ex-offenders.