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Letter: Dental care is a necessity for all. Why is it not available for the poor and homeless?

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Dental hygienist Erika Castañeda performs dental cleaning at Project Homeless Connect, where community volunteers to provide services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Friday Oct. 25, 2019.

You probably know that hospitals have to take anyone who is indigent or has Medicaid but did you know that poor, homeless or indigent people can’t get free dental care. Most if not all dentists don’t accept Medicaid or provide free services for dental care.

The only free dental care in Salt Lake County as far as I know is at the 4th Street Clinic downtown. The only catch is that there is evidently only one dentist available and it sometimes takes months to get an appointment.

Does anyone think that our Legislature or Congressmen care about that? That’s a real indictment of our health care system and it shows how much they care for the less fortunate among us. They enjoy free health care and dental insurance. Dental care is a necessity for all. Why is it not provided?

Marty Bernstein, Midvale

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