12-Year-Old Deamonte Driver Dies Because His Family Could Not Afford Dental Care

Deamonte Driver, 12, a Black boy in Prince George's County, Maryland, died after a tooth abscess spread bacteria to his brain. His family's Medicaid coverage had lapsed; dentists who accepted Medicaid were scarce. Two brain surgeries and six weeks of hospitalization could not save him. His death, reported in the Washington Post, prompted congressional hearings on Medicaid dental coverage gaps that disproportionately affected Black children.