Dental visits of no benefit? … Verily it is
Boy in PG County dies (yes he DIED!) from tooth infection.
Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday.
A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him.
If his mother hadn’t been focused on getting a dentist for his brother, who had six rotted teeth.
If his mother had been insured.
If his family had not lost its Medicaid.
[...]
By the time Deamonte’s own aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After two operations and more than six weeks of hospital care, the Prince George’s County boy died.
Deamonte’s death and the ultimate cost of his care, which could total more than $250,000, underscore an often-overlooked concern in the debate over universal health coverage: dental care.
Some poor children have no dental coverage at all. Others travel three hours to find a dentist willing to take Medicaid patients and accept the incumbent paperwork. And some, including Deamonte’s brother, get in for a tooth cleaning but have trouble securing an oral surgeon to fix deeper problems.
[...]
It was on Jan. 11 that Deamonte came home from school complaining of a headache. At Southern Maryland Hospital Center, his mother said, he got medicine for a headache, sinusitis and a dental abscess. But the next day, he was much sicker.
Eventually, he was rushed to Children’s Hospital, where he underwent emergency brain surgery. He began to have seizures and had a second operation. The problem tooth was extracted.
After more than two weeks of care at Children’s Hospital, the Clinton seventh-grader began undergoing six weeks of additional medical treatment as well as physical and occupational therapy at another hospital. He seemed to be mending slowly, doing math problems and enjoying visits with his brothers and teachers from his school, the Foundation School in Largo
On Saturday, their last day together, Deamonte refused to eat but otherwise appeared happy, his mother said. They played cards and watched a show on television, lying together in his hospital bed. But after she left him that evening, he called her.
“Make sure you pray before you go to sleep,” he told her.
The next morning at about 6, she got another call, this time from the boy’s grandmother. Deamonte was unresponsive. She rushed back to the hospital.
“When I got there, my baby was gone,” recounted his mother
[...]
In spite of such modern innovations as the fluoridation of drinking water, tooth decay is still the single most common childhood disease nationwide, five times as common as asthma, experts say. Poor children are more than twice as likely to have cavities as their more affluent peers, research shows, but far less likely to get treatment. [MORE...]
Filed under: Posts of no Benefit
The article seems to blame a lack of dental insurance, but her other son had dental problems too. It seems to me that we need to teach a little more about dental hygiene to parents like brushing after every meal etc
This reminds me of being at the masjid after ‘Isha and sitting through (enduring) the nightly halaqah where on one particular night, one brother with yellow teeth was arguing with another brother with yellow teeth about the proper way (as opposed to the innovated way) of using a miswak. One brother even said that some ‘mufti’ somewhere overseas taught him the ‘proper’ way. This was an actual mini-debate that happened and that’s when I knew that a lot of us were so out of touch and so theoretical that I just couldn’t endure another halaqah with this kind of element. I got up and walked out shaking my head.
I went home and continued my bid’ah…I brushed, flossed, and went to bed.
LMAO at TSRP
contrary to popular belief, there is nothing special about the “miswak” stick, root from the ‘arak tree.
Miswak is an instrumental name, from something that brushes, like Miftah is one for something that opens.
Some scholars have said that there is Ijma that a “Miswak” is anything that cleans the mouth through brushing,
the hadith mentions “Miswak is a cleans the mouth and pleases the Lord.”
So if you are using that Oral-B toothbrush with colgate, then you are using a “miswak”.
I agree with you TSRP, Allah knows best, but something so simple shouldn’t become such a dogmatic issue.
A lot of people don’t have dental insurance, myself included, we just have to pay out of pocket. This is common amongst the self employed.
Here there is a dentist on every corner that takes Medicaid. I’m surprised that is not the case in DC.
Yes this article seems to be about dental hygiene education. I know I didn’t realize dental problems could be fatal.
TSRP: “I went home and continued my bid’ah…I brushed, flossed, and went to bed”
As long as you made your tawbah in the morning, I’d say you did good… esp. for your teeth.
Btw, the “miswaak-extract” toothpaste tastes looks pretty awful… and thanks to Hood, I don’t have to try it now on my miswaak-lookalike-ergonomic-toothbrush.
People have a personality responsiblity to themselves and their families to take care of themselves to the best way possible. Many people who do not have insurance make use this their excuse to be negligent of their health and well being. To be honest, I ask, if you don’t care abaout yourself why whould anyone else care, why should the system care?
Those who are from economically challenged backgrounds yet lead an economically functional life put dentistry at the bottom of things to take care of, and unitl there is a health crisis, they don’t seek help It reminds me of a paper I edit on “Poverty”. Some people are poor and it is justified, but there are many people who live in a “culture of Poverty”. Wehn I read this it was a wake up call to me because I know a lot of people have expectations from the “system” to take care of them, and then when they are not fulfilled, they blame their issues on the system.
I bet you the same people who don’t have insurance and now moune about it, have
cable TV’s, carry cells phones and wear the latest trends.
I have nothing against people who do not have insurance, but I am against the “culture of poverty”. I myself do not have insurance, a recent college grad in between jobs and not sure if I am going back to school. It only takes two visits a year to the dentist to take care of problems, which costs less than $150 per visit to get a descent check up and cleaning. Mind you, some Doctors are willing to give low income patients discounts and sa payment plan. If their is a will, there is a way!
Umm Abdullah, DC and PG County are two separate places and even cultures (for the most part). PG is in the state of Maryland. Deadbeat parents are unfortunately the norm in today’s society.
Anyway, I have to agree with you, S, many of the poor have cable, modern cells, and wear the latest trends. As you’ve said there are too many dental offices which offer discounts, and payment plans.
Even if you are self employed, depending on your income, you can get insurance for a decent price from many insurance companies. Carefirst has very affordable rates for those w/out insurance… OR you can always move to France *SMILE* or vote for Obama since he’s pushing free healthcare for all.
I think this has more to do with deadbeat and negligent parents.
As for the miswak thing, who in their right mind, knowing how highly The Prophet (PBUH) and Islam in general holds cleanliness, does not think The Prophet himself, if he were alive today, would not be using a pre-brushing rinse, flossing, brushing with a modern toothbrush and using a post brushing rinse? Maybe even thow in a waterpick?
People get so caught up in “how they did it back then” that they actually MISS the idea. The idea is that The Prophet used the most advanced methods of the day and actually cared for his teeth in the best manner that he could.
Instead of sticking a branch in your mouth they ought to take the Prophets example and use the best methods of today to keep their teeth clean.
One wonders if these same types do not use deodorant because they didnt have it at the time of the Prophet? Do these same brothers choose not to use air conditioning, heating, cars, air travel, modern medical and the like?
The whole miswak thing (along with khuffs, kufis, etc.) creates a market for brothers to sell stuff. You can go ahead and throw meat slaughtered by Muslims in there too. It’s not a conspiracy - but more a coalescence of factors. It’s part of this evolving culture where a group of muslims who are not at all connected to each other directly, make a fuss about the miswak. Like I heard from one brother - “it prevents colon cancer” - which leads to brothers selling wooden tooth sticks and there already being a market in place because the ‘miswak’ has been mytholized. You see, to use common sense and just make the logical leap that the present day toothbrush is the equivalent of the toothstick of 1400 years ago takes away another “Muslim” product to hawk in the masjid parking lot. Imagine if the prevailing and accepted knowledge was that a toothbrush IS the miswak. Where is the novelty and good ole’ feeling of being on the sunnah selling Oral Bs in the masjid parking lot?
Same thing with khuffs - first make it a big fiqhi issue (mostly among converts) - then you create a market for unskilled brothers to sell them (because you need ‘em akh - you can’t wipe over hanes socks).
Same thing with meat - Allahs says plainly that you can eat the meat of Jews and Christians period. Colonel Sanders and Ronald McDonald are Christians - cool pass me a 2 piece and big mac - but noooooo - it becomes damn near a complicated ‘aqeedah issue wherein your entire religion is put into question by whose meat you eat - which creates yet another ‘necessity’ market in which Muslims HAVE to buy another product (which is never cheap or convenient to acquire).
Hood:
I can follow your logic, and the ulamaa have not indicated that there is more reward in using a awrak root over the modern toothbrush, but what about using it before wudu and right before salaah? Are there not some indications that the siwaak as far as use in ibaadah is what was used during the time of the Salaf? (This is NOT to say that we can not use toothbrush and paste)
Consider the following:
- This hadith: “Were it not for the fact that I did not want to make things too hard for my ummah, I would have commanded them to use the siwaak at every time of prayer” [Muslim]
- That it is mustahab to use it before reciting Qur’an. If one is in the masjid, how can one go home and brush his teeth with a toothbrush and paste.
For the above purposes, many brothers keep a miswaak in their pockets for the purposes of reward. This is not practical with toothbrush and paste
The simple goals of Islam have been swapped for esoteric and ambiguous hocus-pocus. We rushed to learn and memorize without understanding the goals and objectives in the Qur’an and Sunnah. The maqasid is lost in favor of literalism. And we can make the simplest things which common sense allows us to deduce into something that requires a series of lectures (for sale of course).
(sigh) ‘Amma ba’d:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not want his followers to have funky breath…period. In whatever form they battled funky breath back then - he stressed it for his followers. Call it sunnah. Call it mustahabb. Call it following the salaf. Whatever. The whole uncomplicated point was dental hygiene. A clean mouth without offending odors and decaying teeth that causes people to wince in the salah when they pray next to you…or take a few steps back the next time someone is lecturing them about the position of the hands in salah. Islam is practical and pragmatic and it makes sense but some of us are determined to make this complicated.
So Verily…if the goal is to remove the funk from one’s mouth…in THIS day and age…what is the best method to achieve this goal of the prophetic advice…a stick…or some (alcohol free) mouthwash and a good toothbrushing with some crest before going to the masjid?
and some BIG RED!
Rashad:
Everything in Islam is not tied to a goal. At least not an earthly one. Some things are purely ibaadah as is the case with salaah and fasting for example.
Allah knows best
Correction Umm Adam, some of THEM need Listerine and to be sprayed down with LYSOL and FEBREEZE before entering the masjid…carry on
Salafee Method,
Unless there is a proof for an action being ethereal (ta’abuddi) then it is rational (mu’allal).
In this case the hadith that you mention (and in fact all of the authentic ones that I have come across) indicate that there is a reason for using the siwak.
That reason was stated by the Prophet himself as two-fold: hygiene and Godliness
The other hadith you mentioned only reiterate these meanings, i.e. cleaning one’s mouth before prayer, reciting Quran, etc; the junction of physical purity with meta-physical and spiritual purity.
No one is saying not to carry a miswak with you in your pocket to use before Salah. However if you have the ability to cleanse your mouth in a better way, this would necessitate that this way would be more pleasing to God. Taking the time out to use a travel toothbrush while making wuDu would seem to be not only more cleansing, but more devote in light of the effort it would take.
If we take the very broad issue of “what the Salaf used” to its (il)logical conclusions, we will end up in fact going against the way of the Salaf, which was to follow the generalities of the Quran that dictate ease, facilitation, and permissibility in all things not dictated as acts of worship or that do not harm us in our Din.
We have here in KSA a group of people (a very small one mind you) that do not drive (i.e. they ride horses), do not use money, do not send their children to school or teach them anything more than basic arithmetic, and do not use running water or electricity (which they say is a form of Magic), in addition to a list of other things deemed by them as impermissible or disliked, with medieval counterparts being permissible/preferred.
One of them (who is a scholar in the very traditional sense) wrote a book on why using electricity is like using Magic, and ….. well you can follow the logic.
Strangely enough, this book was printed in a modern printing press, and he authorized the printing. When a friend of mine debated him on this issue, he referred to the book. When my friend said well your book was printed … “…and a person that concurs with the use of magic is then what?” Said Shaykh kindly ended the conversation and left….
Yes and just so that no one thinks this is a norm here, it is a very isolated group of people in one part of the country (similar to the amish?), and are the laughing stock of the rest of the kingdom.
My point is here:
Their reasoning for all of this? Following the Salaf.
May Allah bless us all to understand his book and his Prophet’s sunnah holistically for the furthering of both our Din and our dunya. Amin
Why carry a miswak when you can do what I do at work. Simply get one of the travel toothbrush and a travel size thing of toothpaste.
It is not much bigger than the miswak and does a much better job. Again, keeping the spirit in mind.
The Prophet didnt have hoses to wash after using the toiler, nor did he have a bidet, but if he were alive today he’d be using both.
Do these “salafee” brothers use sand and sea shells to clean after using the toilet? What about modern anti-baterialogica soap to wash their body and hands? None of this the prophet had, yet he’d be using them today if he was here.
There guys miss the forest for the trees.
Abu Sinan I think that one of the misconceptions people have is that Salafees are anti-technology. We are not. Hood seems to understand what I am saying. I was simply asking if this issue of the miswak was ta’buddi. We use toothbrush and paste and obviously I am using a computer right now. There are people of all types as Hood mentioned that take things too far. Deobandis (the umbrella group for tableeghis) are very anti-salafee but refuse to use eating utensils or sit at a table and believe it to be from righteousness to wear tattered clothing. It is the spread of ignorance and superstition that causes these things. And many of us, including me, just have a lot to learn. I have begun to look at things a little differently myself and I now see nothing wrong with wearing a suit and tie where I was very opposed to it before. We live and learn and I hope to continue to do so.
Hood those are some excellent points, masha Allah
There are many Muslims who follow the sunnah out of love for the Prophet, and that is very noble . Doesn’t an action become Ibadah based on your intention.
I think what bothers most people is that they force their beliefs on others, we should be hard on ourselves and easy on other people. So if you want to use a mishwak, alhumdulilah but don’t condemn others who don’t find it to be a religious obligation.
Hood my man…Verily you always bring it home. Henceforth you shall be known as Darth Verilous…
Salafee Method:
We all still have a lot to learn. The more we live and experience, the more our perspective changes. I look at things differently now than say, before I was married with kids. Even though I thought I had all the answers because of the classes and the books. Based on my ‘book’ knowledge, I just knew that if you follow the formula abc, then the result would be xyz…simple. No biggie. Then things started to become real…the formulas didn’t produce the results…not all things were equal. Then I realized that the ideal found in the books were just that…an ideal. And I was killing myself trying to superimpose that ideal onto my reality. I think that’s where a lot of us are right now.
I understood your point about ‘ibadah. My point was that I do believe with the intention it is an act of worship (whether stick or brush) but if the goal, as Hood mention has been explained, then the best available method to achieve that goal is the best way to attain the dunya benefit (healthy mouth) and the hasanah with Allah.
Um Abdullah said what I was going to say… but I’ll say it anyway
Respect is a 2-way street. If we want people to respect the perspective of miswak being only a means, which could be replaced by the toothbrush to achieve the same “sunnah goal”, then we should be also respectful of the opinion that some people will have, and that this as a literal sunnah. Furthermore, if your intentions are to follow the Prophet (S) as Um Abdullah said, then it does indeed become praiseworthy.
I consider myself “Salafee” for what it’s worth, but I think my understand is often different than others in what it really means.
Unlike a fair amount out there, I dont think it is “Salafee” to refuse to use air conditioning and the like. What bothers me is the double standard. Some will try to tell you that everything, in the eact same manner, that the Prophet and his companions did was the best way.
So that is how they justify the miswak, at the same time completely misunderstanding what the miswak is all about, the essence of it. Missing the forest for the trees.
Many types like this refuse to learn anything that doesnt have to do with the deen, at the same time forgetting that the prophet himself suggested one should travel as far as China if they need to in able to learn.
It is these types of people, and these methods of thoughts, that turned the Islamic world from the leaders of medicine, science, astronomy and engineering into a cesspool of ignorance, where the Muslim world blindly follows the west.
I work in the Intellectual Property field, more specifically in the Electrical Engineering area. I work with a lot of talented Muslims from all over the Islamic world, Africa, Middle East, you name it.
But they have all come to the West because the Islamic world is stagnant when it comes to education, to learning. Like one khateeb said, and I repeat this all of the time, there are more books translated into Greek every year, with 12-15 million speakers than are translated in Arabic, with some 270 million speakers.
The Muslim world is backwards and we are going to continue to fall behind and I think it is the cultural and individual thinking of people like this that have caused it.
The Muslim world needs to get it’s act in gear, start to value education and knowledge and to worry about the shape of the community.
With all this dentist talk, my tooth has started to hurt. I’ll assume its psychological for now and vigorously work on it with my miswaak tomorrow morning. I’ll keep you all posted….. or probably not.
miswak is sunnah