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On this West Virginia Week, the world’s largest transportable Ferris wheel arrives in Charleston, the SNAP ban on soda is blocked, and we look at an effort to expand local medical care through EMS.
Many West Virginians have trouble with their teeth. In fact, there’s a big gap between folks who can reliably access an affordable dentist and those who can’t. That’s no surprise when half the state’s counties have fewer than six dentists. A recent national ranking shows West Virginia is second to last in overall oral health care. A state report shows that by third grade, 56 percent of children show signs of tooth decay, and 12 percent of adults have had all their teeth extracted.
People who don’t have good oral health habits and access to regular and quality dental care elevate their risk of other critical health care issues, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. About more than aesthetics or any toothless hillbilly stereotype, access to dental care is a dangerous culture divide that might look like a class gap but is deeper and far more serious.
This episode was recently honored with a regional award from the Associated Press of the Virginias. The first place honor was for best documentary.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the West Virginia Humanities Council.
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Trey Kay
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Dr. Malav Shah provides dental care for a Boone County resident.
Trey Kay
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West Virginia Health Right Mobile Dental Clinic parked behind Boone Memorial Hospital in Madison, WV.
Trey Kay
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Bobbi Muto has been a champion for oral health in West Virginia for decades — first as a dental hygienist then as a public health advocate. She drove Us & Them host Trey Kay to the Health Right Dental Clinic when it stopped in Madison.
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Dr. Ron Stollings, an internal medicine physician, is a West Virginia state senator from Boone County. For years, he has been a champion for improving oral health care.
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This week, some folks are working to preserve the memory of Bristol, Virginia’s Black Bottom, a largely African American community wiped out by urban renewal. Also, small food producers embrace digital technology for the humble farm stand. And, kudzu; it’s coming for us.
Urban renewal in the last century was supposed to revitalize struggling cities, but it often sacrificed Black neighborhoods and business districts, like Black Bottom in Bristol, Virginia. Inside Appalachia’s Mason Adams spoke with organizer Tina McDaniel about “The Souls of Bristol’s Black Bottom,” a project in Bristol that remembers the community through interpretive signs, public art and digital storytelling. McDaniel says learning about Black Bottom was a revelation.
Construction is underway for the America 250 Wheel, the world's largest portable Ferris wheel and a centerpiece of West Virginia's America250 celebration.