September 14, 200619 yr A Lehigh County mother is behind bars after police say her son's lack of dental care was her fault. According to a local dentist, the 5-year-old boy has just 8 teeth left and will need to be on a special soft food diet. He says his tooth decay was so severe, it was criminal, and police agreed. "The nerves are exposed here and over here," said Dr. Nicholas Prusack. "This is the X-ray showing the rotted teeth of the 5 year-old victim, and 12 of them so infected they had to be pulled." Investigators say the damage was the result of the boy having never seen a dentist. Now, his mother, 43-year-old Erneida Resto of Bethlehem, Pa., is charged with endangering her son's welfare. Northampton County children and youth services began investigating Resto in February when she brought her son to a dental office in Salisbury Towsnhip, Lehigh County. That is where Dr. Prusack performed the surgery, saying the boy was in so much pain he could not eat. "It is probably one of the worst cases," Dr. Prusack said. Dr. Prusack was so concerned he notified authorities who say the boy had been complaining of headaches and pain in his mouth since the summer of 2005. According to court documents, his mother said she knew her son was hurting, but did not take him to a dentist because she figured his baby teeth would fall out and the problem would fix itself. Dr. Prusack says if he hadn't removed the boy's teeth he would likely have ended up in the hospital within six months. He says the boy is now left with only 6 teeth on the bottom and 2 teeth on top and has a long road ahead. "He's not going to have all of his permanent teeth, and for the next 10 years chewing food will be a problem for him," Dr. Prusack said. http://www.nbc10.com/news/9842781/detail.html
September 14, 200619 yr his mother said she knew her son was hurting, but did not take him to a dentist because she figured his baby teeth would fall out and the problem would fix itself. well she would know right? I mean being a dentist & all... :plain
September 14, 200619 yr I'm glad she went to jail. It's criminal to do things like that to kids. Totally irresponsible.
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