I have to breath a heavy sigh when I read about the lack of dental care as the biggest root (bad pun) cause of these problems. It isn't. Neither is being poor. Education, perhaps, is. The best dental insurance money can buy costs about $1/month (probably less, if you really need to be economical). I'm talking, of course, about dental floss. (It also happens to be an excellent health insurance plan to defend specifically against heart problems, and possibly even obesity, but that's another thing altogether.)

Dental floss is so cheap, so effective, it's difficult to believe that insurers don't mandate that we use it (or somehow offer incentives, free floss, etc). It is the most horribly unappreciated personal hygiene product available. There is no better way to maintain your teeth (from tooth decay, anyhow--straightness is another thing, obviously) than to floss at least once daily. There's no amount of poorness that can't afford $1/month. Does anyone know if programs like WIC provide dental care products? If not, that's a difficult one to figure.