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This week, in author Willie Carver, Jr.’s new book, he reconsiders a negative childhood experience with a neighborhood girl who might have just been looking for a friend. Also, a southwestern Virginia community rang the alarm after more and more of its children were diagnosed with cancer. A local journalist is trying to unravel the cause. And, the city of Asheville has a new crusading reporter. He’s a puppet.
Many West Virginians have trouble with their teeth. In fact, there’s a big gap between the 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. National rankings consistently put West Virginia at or near the bottom in overall oral health care and a state report shows that by third grade, 56% of children show signs of tooth decay. Twelve percent of older adults have had all their teeth extracted.
But as Us & Them host Trey Kay learns in this award-winning encore episode, there are new approaches that aim to change some old habits.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the West Virginia Humanities Council.
Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, the NPR app and wherever you get your podcasts.
Dr. Malav Shah provides dental care to a Boone County resident during a clinic visit. Shah is among the healthcare providers working to improve access to dental care in southern West Virginia.
Photo by Trey Kay
“Most of the patients we see have not been to a dentist ever—or maybe they haven’t been in ten or twenty years. They only come when something hurts. That’s the mindset we’re trying to change. We want people to see a dentist regularly so we can fix problems while they’re still small.”
— Dr. Malav Shah
The West Virginia Health Right Mobile Dental Clinic is parked behind Boone Memorial Hospital in Madison before welcoming patients for appointments. The mobile clinic expands access to dental care in rural communities across West Virginia.
Photo by Trey KayBobbi Muto, a longtime advocate for oral health in West Virginia, drove Us & Them host Trey Kay to the West Virginia Health Right Mobile Dental Clinic during its stop in Madison. Muto spent decades as a dental hygienist before becoming a public health advocate.
Photo by Trey Kay
“People couldn’t eat because their mouths were decayed or they had dentures that didn’t fit. You can’t bite into an apple. You can’t eat a steak. That’s where I started connecting the dots between oral health and overall health.”
— Bobbi Muto
Dr. Ron Stollings, an internal medicine physician from Boone County, has long advocated for improving oral health care in West Virginia. Stollings also served as a member of the West Virginia Senate.
Photo by Trey Kay
“Someone with poor oral health may end up having a heart attack in their forties or fifties. They may have digestive problems because they can’t chew their food. They may not get a job because of their teeth. You really have to look at the full picture.”
— Dr. Ron Stollings
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This week, in author Willie Carver, Jr.’s new book, he reconsiders a negative childhood experience with a neighborhood girl who might have just been looking for a friend. Also, a southwestern Virginia community rang the alarm after more and more of its children were diagnosed with cancer. A local journalist is trying to unravel the cause. And, the city of Asheville has a new crusading reporter. He’s a puppet.
Lydia Hamessley is a professor of music at Hamilton College in New York and the author of "Unlikely Angel, The Songs of Dolly Parton." She spent nearly a decade researching Dolly's music catalog. Inside Appalachia Associate Producer Abby Neff talked with Hamessley.
Dolly meant a lot to educator, author and poet Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr. from east Kentucky. Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Carver about the loss of Dolly Parton.
